MOSCOW, October 31 - RAPSI, Diana Gutsul. Witness Alexei Levin, who was the head of the Federal Penitentiary Service's medical department for Moscow in 2009, has testified at the Moscow Tverskoy District Court that neither Sergei Magnitsky himself, nor his relatives filed any complaints with him.
Magnitsky, a Hermitage Capital Management Fund auditor, was charged with masterminding large-scale corporate tax evasion. He died in an investigative isolation ward on November 16, 2009 after spending a year behind bars. He spent most of his arrest term in Butyrka prison. His death sparked a public outcry.
On Tuesday, the court hearing continued in the case of Dmitry Kratov, former deputy head of the Moscow investigative isolation ward. He is charged with misconduct in his duties which led to Magnitsky's death.
"I did not know that Magnitsky was severely ill. I learned of this only on the second day after his death. No complaints were filed and his relatives had not informed me of his condition," Levin said.
In 2009, Levin was in charge of medicine and maintenance supply to Moscow's investigative isolation wards.
He said that after Magnitsky's death, a number of Butyrka's staff members were fired and some of them were punished and were subject to disciplinary action.
Levin said that the violations uncovered had only partially been dealt with. "We still have some problems with staff. People have not been queuing up to start working at the wards," he said.