December 3, 2012

TORONTO- The Central and Eastern European Council of Canada is cosponsoring a speaking engagement with William Browder, CEO of Hermitage
Capital entitled “Russia: A Failing Mafia State” : 5:30pm, Monday, December 10,
2012 at Tartu College, 310 Bloor Street W, Toronto (N/E corner of Bloor St. and
Madison Ave).

Wiliam Browder, the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, is leading a global
campaign urging Western parliaments to enact laws denying visas to and freezing the assets of Russian officials culpable in the killing of Sergei Magnitsky.
Browder was the largest foreign investor in Russia, before being suddenly denied entry into that country in November 2005. He was declared “a threat to national security” for exposing corruption at large Russian companies.

In 2008, Browder’s lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, uncovered massive fraud committed by Russian officials involving the theft of $230 million of state taxes which Hermitage had paid in 2006. After testifying against the officials involved, Magnitsky was arrested and imprisoned without trial by those very same officials. After spending a year in pre-trial detention, he died as a result of torture and denial of medical care despite over twenty requests for assistance. He was 37at the time of his death and left a wife with two children.

Since then Browder has led a worldwide media and legislative campaign to get
legislation introduced by the US Congress, Canadian and European parliaments to enforce visa bans and freeze financial assets of those who perpetrated the crimes.

Representing nearly 3 million Canadians of Central and Eastern European heritage,the CEEC supports Canadian Magnitsky legislation that targets corrupt Kremlin officials with visa bans and asset freezes and applauds the United States House of Representatives for passing this legislation in November. The CEEC believes that Canadian Magnitsky legislation will both support safe and clean Canadian trade with Russia and help protect basic human rights and the fundamental principles of liberty and democracy in Russia and the region.

Markus Hess
Chairman, Central and Eastern European Council of Canada
For more information please contact:

Marcus Kolga
416 833 5553
marcuskolga@gmail.com

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