Lawyer's health 'was ingnored'

RUSSIAN investigators has said that a lawyer imprisoned by government official after accusing them of stealing $230 million died because of a lack of medical treatment in jail.

The federal Investigative Committee said for the first time yesterday that the lack of medical help was the "direct cause" of the death of 37-year-old Sergei Magnitsky.

Mr Magnitsky, who worked for an American investment fund, died in prison in November 2009 after the pancreatitis he developed there went untreated.

He had been arrested by Interior Ministry officials whom he had accused of defrauding the state.

The investigative committee said that it had identified those responsible for Magnitsky's death and will name them later.