Dmitry Komnov, 35, was the head of pretrial detention at Moscow's Butyrka prison during the period in question. He denied Magnitsky medical care for months despite the lawyer's complaints of intense pain and pancreatitis and his need for surgery. Komnov allegedly deprived Magnitsky of sleep and food and did not respond to over 100 complaints filed by the lawyer about his conditions and treatment. Several weeks before Magnitsky died, Komnov told the Moscow prosecutor's office that no violations had occurred concerning Magnitsky and that the lawyer had been regularly examined and treated.
