Whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, who died in prison in 2009, accused of evading £10.8m in taxes

The trial of the whistleblowing Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky is to begin next month, even though he died in prison three years ago.

A Russian court ruled on Monday that the trial would begin on 4 March. Prosecutors accuse Magnitsky and his former client William Browder, a London-based investor, of evading $16.8m (£10.8m) in taxes.

The trial will be held under procedures allowing for posthumous trials to clear the deceased. Magnitsky's relatives are boycotting the proceedings.

Magnitsky was arrested in 2008 while investigating an alleged $230m (£148m) tax fraud and died the following year after developing pancreatitis that was left untreated.

The US Congress passed a law sanctioning officials whom Browder accuses of involvement in the fraud. Russia in response banned adoptions by Americans.

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