British MP Demands that Magnitsky Killers Be Banned From Entering the UK and Their Names Submitted to Interpol and Europol

January 12, 2012

On Wednesday the 11th January, the Rt Hon Denis MacShane MP, former Minister for Europe, initiated a Parliamentary Adjournment Debate in the British Parliament entitled, ‘Human Rights and case of Sergei Magnitsky’. Mr MacShane demanded that the British Government impose visa sanctions against the Russian officials who were responsible for the false arrest, torture and death of Sergei Magnitsky and the $230 million tax fraud that Magnitsky uncovered.

Mr MacShane said: “We could do more for stopping human rights atrocities by selectively banning a few corrupt Russian officials from coming into our country, than all the millions of pounds wasted by the Foreign Office on useless diplomatic efforts which are simply ignored and scoffed at by the Russians.”

In a damning condemnation of the impunity in Russia, Mr MacShane laid out in detail the facts of the Magnitsky case in front of the British Parliament and called on the British Government to implement visa sanctions on a number of officials named in his testimony. He pointed to actions that have been taken in the US Congress and demanded that the same be done in the UK.

Mr MacShane continued: “Modern Russian apparatchiks like to visit, buy flats, or educate their children in England. By naming, shaming and announcing they will lose those privileges if they break the law and allow a lawyer representing a British firm to die in agony for having defended his client’s interests, diplomatic pressured will be focused, sharp and will send a clear state-to-state signal that Russia cannot live above the law”.

The Russian officials included in MacShane’s testimony were: Lt Col Artem Kuznetsov, who was responsible for falsely arresting Sergei Magnitsky and seizing documents in order to misappropriate British assets and steal $230 million from the Russian Government. According to the testimony, Kuznetsov travelled to the UK twice in 2006. MacShane then named Major Pavel Karpov who opened up the fabricated criminal case against Magnitsky which was then used to arrest him. Karpov travelled to the UK 4 times between 2006 and 2007. MacShane also named Dmitri Klyuev, owner of Universal Savings Bank, the bank which systematically laundered the stolen funds. Klyuev travelled to the UK 5 times in 2008.

Mr MacShane also introduced the following Russian Government officials to the Parliamentary record, as individuals who should be denied entry to the UK:

From the Moscow Courts: Judge Yelena Stashina, Judge Aleksey Krivoruchko and Olga Egorova
From the Russian Interior Ministry: Oleg Silchenko, Oleg Urzhumtsev, Alexei Anichin, Oleg Logunov, Boris Kibis and General Major Tatiana Gerasimova
From the FSB: Viktor Voronin
From the Russian Tax Service: Olga Stepanova and Yelena Khimina
From the Federal Penitentiary Service: Dmitri Komnov, Fikhet Tagiev and Yuri Kalinin
From the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office: Andrey Pechegin

In addition to recommending a visa ban to the UK, Mr MacShane requested that the British Government submit this list of names to the Interpol and Europol databases.

The British Government’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Henry Bellingham MP, acknowledged the list of names submitted by Mr MacShane and assured him that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office would study the details of each of the individuals named and provide a complete response to Parliament.

In addition to Mr MacShane’s introductory speech, a number of MPs from all political parties came out in support of the visa ban initiative as well as other possible actions which the British Government could take to punish those involved in the Magnitsky case. The other MPs included: Julian Lewis MP, Robert Buckland MP (Chairman of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission), and Dominic Raab MP from the Conservative Party; Jo Swinson MP, and the Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce MP from the Liberal Democrat Party; Chris Bryant MP (Shadow Minister for Immigration), and Fabian Hamilton MP from the Labour Party.

Additionally, Dominic Raab MP proposed that the British Parliament should consider introducing similar legislation to the US Congress bill entitled: “The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2011”, which would not only punish those Russian officials involved in the Magnitsky case, but would ban entry and freeze the assets of all gross violators of human rights.

The Foreign Minister, Henry Bellingham MP, agreed that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office would consider all the suggestions made by the MPs during the debate.

To see the full speech click here: http://russian-untouchables.com/eng/human-rights-and-the-case-of-sergei-magnitsky/

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