In its annual report on human rights, the US State Department raised concerns about the treatment of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for hedge fund Hermitage Capital Managment, who died in custody on tax evasion charges that the report claims were “widely believed [to have been] fabricated”.

Giving prominence to the claims that his death was due to “deliberate medical neglect”, the report said: “The official report of his cause of death was heart failure, which was widely considered to be a false diagnosis intended to hide the decision to deny him medical treatment.”

Mr Magnitsky died in prison after being held, without trial, for 358 days and developing pancreatitis. The report, submitted to Congress by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, stated: “A number of human rights activists believed Magnitsky’s death to have been either deliberate or the result of an attempt to pressure him to change his testimony against [two police officers].”

Mr Magnitsky was imprisoned after he testified about the involvement of Russian police officers in the alleged theft of $230m (£150m) of taxpayer funds. In December, Russia’s Justice Ministry announced a formal investigation into Magnitsky’s death.

His alleged ordeal is just one example used by the State Department to claim human rights abuses in Russia. The report also cites the killing of eight journalists, “many of whom reported critically on the government”.

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