Judge presiding over Kara-Murza case appealed for removal from U.S. Magnitsky list

Sergey Podoprigorov, a judge in the Moscow municipal court which is currently hearing a case against Vladimir Kara-Murza, asked the U.S. Treasury Department to remove him from the so-called “Magnitsky list,” reports independent news outlet Verstka.

Verstka writes that Podoprigorov appealed to the U.S. Treasury Department in 2018. The elite British-Australian law firm Herbert Smith Freehills helped him prepare the appeal. Podoprigorov insisted that he was appointed to hear the 2008 case against Sergey Magnitsky by chance, saying he was the presiding judge in court that day. Podoprigorov made the same argument about the day in 2009 when voted to extend Magnitsky’s time in jail, where Magnitsky died several months later.

In his appeal, Podoprigorov also said he was acting in accordance with Russian laws, and that Magnitsky’s medical certificate didn’t suggest that he had any serious illnesses.

Vadim Prokhorov, Kara-Murza’s lawyer, considers Podoprigorov responsible not only for the Magnitsky’s persecution and ultimate death, but also for protecting people involved in the embezzlement scheme that Magnitsky exposed.

Verstka notes that Kara-Murza, whose case Podoprigorov is now hearing, was involved in creating the “Magnitsky list,” which caused the judge to come under U.S. sanctions. Kara-Murza’s lawyers tried twice to have Podoprigorov removed from the case. Both attempts were denied.

Vladimir Kara-Murza was arrested in April 2022 and charged with multiple crimes, including treason. On April 6, 2023, the prosecutor asked that he be sentenced to 25 years in prison, the maximum term a court can impose on a politician. Kara-Murza believes the charges against him are politically motivated.