US Government Bans Entry To Russian Officials involved in the Magnitsky Case

July 26, 2011

Today it was confirmed that US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has imposed visa sanctions on Russian government officials associated with the death in police custody of 37-year old anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. America is the first country to officially impose sanctions on the Russian officials involved in the Magnitsky case.

“The facts are so shocking about the false arrest, torture and death of Sergei Magnitsky that countries are now starting the act to prohibit the people who killed Sergei from coming into their territories. The first domino has fallen and many more will follow soon,” said a Hermitage Capital representative.

This news comes from comments by the Obama administration on the forthcoming Magnitsky legislation, known as the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2011”. This legislation is sponsored by 19 leading senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties. The legislation calls for visa sanctions and asset freezes on individuals involved in Magnitsky’s false arrest, torture and death, as well as on perpetrators of other gross human rights violations.

The visa ban is a response by the US State Department to a request by Senator Benjamin Cardin (Democrat, Maryland) in April 2010 to ban a list of 60 Russian officials who were involved in the false arrest, torture and death of Sergei Magnitsky and the $230 million corruption scheme that he had uncovered. The list includes; Alexei Anichin, Deputy Interior Minister, Victor Grin, Deputy General Prosecutor and Viktor Voronin, Head of Department ‘K’ of the FSB (the successor organization to the KGB).
Since the “Cardin list” was first made public last April, many of the same Russian officials have been reported to be engaged in other human rights violations, including unlawful arrests of opposition leaders and activists, mistreatment of detainees and bribery.

The comments from the US administration point out that in contrast to the public statements of warm relations between Russia and the US, the Russian government threatened to “respond asymmetrically” to the passing of the Magnitsky Act by withdrawing support for sanctions against Iran, North Korea and Libya and blocking US military transit to Afghanistan.
“The Russian government seems more concerned about protecting Lt Colonel Kuznetsov and tax officer Olga Stepanova’s ability to travel, than preventing nuclear proliferation around the world,” said a Hermitage Capital representative.

The visa sanctions that have been imposed by the US government show an escalating concern about the impunity of Russian officials in the Magnitsky case. In March this year, US Vice-President Biden speaking in Moscow said that Magnitsky case has become a deterrent to foreign investment in Russia. Last June, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called upon the Russian government to deliver justice in the Magnitsky case. In response, the Russian government promoted Magnitsky’s killers and awarded them top state honors.
Last week, Physicians for Human Rights, an independent non-profit organization of US physicians, that won the Nobel Prize for its use of medical and scientific expertise to investigate human rights violations and advocating justice around the world,has called upon the Congress to pass, and President Obama to immediately sign, the Magnitsky law.

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