MOSCOW, October 16 - RAPSI. The former Jail Surgery Department head at Matrosskaya Tishina prison has told the court on Tuesday that lawyer Sergei Magnistky refused to undergo an operation as he expected to be released soon, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

According to David Gaustov, he examined Magnitsky during a scheduled consultation. He said that he recommended an ultrasound scan and an operation after the check-up.

“He said he would be released in a month or two and we both decided there was no emergency and it would be better if he was operated on in a normal hospital,” he told the Tverskoy District Court.

The doctor testified as a witness in the trial of former Butyrka jail Deputy Warden Dmitry Kratov, who has been charged with unduly executing his duties resulting in Magnitsky’s death.

Magnitsky, a Hermitage Capital Management Fund auditor, was charged with masterminding large-scale corporate tax evasion. He died in a pretrial detention center on November 16, 2009 after spending a year behind bars. He spent most of his arrest term in Butyrka. His death sparked a public outcry.