Dutch Parliament Votes 150 to 0 to Sanction the Russian Officials Who Killed Anti-Corruption Lawyer Sergei Magnitsky

July 4, 2011

The Dutch parliament, by a vote of 150 to 0 has passed a resolution demanding that the Dutch government impose visa and economic sanctions on the Russian officials who were responsible for the false arrest, torture and death of 37-year old anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

Eighteen months have passed since Sergei Magnitsky died in Interior Ministry custody after testifying against corrupt state officials in Russia.  Despite President Medvedev calling for an investigation, not a single person has been charged.  Instead, the senior officials responsible for Magnitsky’s torture and death have been promoted and in some cases have received state honors. Despite worldwide calls for prosecution, these officials enjoy absolute impunity in Russia.

On December 16 last year, the European Parliament called on all EU member states to impose visa and economic sanctions on the Russian officials behind the Magnitsky case. In May 2011, the US Senate submitted legislation entitled “The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act”, that will give these sanctions the force of a law in the United States.

The motion in the Dutch parliament, entitled “Over de dood van Sergei Magnitsky,” was passed unanimously by the lower House of Parliament.  It reads:

“The Chamber, hearing the proceedings, noting that the Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died under suspicious circumstances in a Russian prison, after a major corruption scandal was uncovered in Russia … noting that among other things, the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives have put measures to restrict visas and freezing assets of Russian officials who were involved in the death of Magnitsky, calls on the Government to take steps in a European context, in line with the initiatives of the U.S. Senate and the European Parliament, so that those responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky be held to account.”

Commenting on the vote, one of the initiators of the resolution, Kathleen Ferrier MP (Christian Democrats), said, “The fact that this resolution was adopted unanimously by all 150 members of the House of Representatives shows the strong commitment of Dutch parliament with the case of Sergei Magnitsky. For me, impunity is unacceptable. That is why I am satisfied with this result. But I also realise that, though this is a very important step, there are many more steps to come. We will continue to fight for justice for Sergei Magnitsky.”

Sergei Magnitsky represented the Hermitage Fund, once the largest foreign portfolio investor in Russia. He was arrested by the Russian Interior Ministry after he exposed how Russian officials stole $230 million of public funds. He was detained by the same officials he had named in his testimony and tortured for one year in custody to withdraw his testimony. After he refused and filed numerous complaints, he was found dead in an isolation cell in a  pre-trial detention center. While in custody, despite his extreme illness and more than twenty official requests for medical attention, he was refused medical care.

Coskun Çörüz, the head of the Dutch delegation to OSCE and Dutch MP, who was the sponsor of the Sergei Magnitsky Motion in the Dutch parliament, said:

“As a member of Dutch Parliament and a lawyer, I am pleased that the Dutch Parliament unanimously adopted my motion about the case of Sergei Magnitsky. This is a strong signal from the Dutch Parliament to the Dutch Government. I believe that human rights are for everybody, everywhere and any time. I believe the Dutch government, which is known as advocate of human rights, will act in the spirit of this resolution.”

The Sergei Magnitsky motion in the Dutch parliament was supported by deputies from both ruling and opposition parties. In addition to Mr Çörüz (Christian Democrats), the motion was co-sponsored by Mr Joël Voordewind  (Christian Union), Mr Han Ten Broeke (Liberal Party), and Mr Kees van der Staaij  (Dutch Reformed Party). Senior Dutch lawmaker Frans Timmermans also voted for the resolution.

The co-sponsor of the Sergei Magnitsky motion, Joël Voordewind MP, said:

“I sincerely regret the death of Mr. Magnitsky … Now is the time to raise the pressure on Russia to bring to justice those responsible for this cowardly act. Unfortunately the death of Mr. Magnitsky is not a isolated incident but part of a much larger problem of the lack of human rights in Russia. Freezing assets and banning visa’s is therefore a clear signal to the Russian authorities that this is unacceptable.”

“The Sergei Magnitsky story touches every person who hears it, which is why the Dutch parliament responded so robustly to his tragedy and what it symbolizes for human rights and the rule of law in Russia,” said William Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital.

See the reference to the Sergei Magnitsky Motion 32 735, nr. 14 on the Dutch Parliament website:
http://www.tweedekamer.nl/images/30-06-2011_tcm118-222571.pdf

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