Sergei Podoprigorov, 39, was a judge in Moscow's Tverskoi district court during the period in question. He approved of the arrest and detention of Magnitsky and prolonged his detention based on alleged evidence submitted by officials that the lawyer had implicated. He ruled that Magnitsky posed a flight risk despite evidence from Magnitsky's attorneys that their client's passport had been seized. He also accepted reportedly false information provided by the Federal Security Service (FSB) that Magnitsky possessed a visa to travel to the United Kingdom.