Medvedev: Business 'uninterested' in lawyer death

[January 26, 2013]  MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev says the death of a whistle-blowing lawyer in prison will not adversely affect the country's business climate.

Medvedev comments came in the wake of a bill passed by Congress that would impose sanctions and travel restrictions on officials connected to the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Hermitage Capital lawyer who died in jail of untreated pancreatitis after accusing Russian officials of stealing $230 million from the state.

The RIA Novosti news agency reports that Medvedev said businessmen are "uninterested" in the issue, and that Magnitsky's death was used only by some as "political capital." Medvedev was speaking as part of a pre-taped segment for a Saturday broadcast.

The premiere spoke soon after his return from the Davos Forum, where he promised more transparent Russian government.

[Associated Press]

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