European Parliamentarians Challenge EU’s New Foreign Policy Chief on Russia and Demand EU to Implement Magnitsky Sanctions in Europe

November 12, 2014

European Parliamentarians Challenge EU’s New Foreign Policy Chief on Russia and Demand EU to Implement Magnitsky Sanctions in Europe

12 November 2014 – Over twenty deputies in the European Parliament have written to Federica Mogherini, EU’s new foreign policy chief, asking her to implement the European Parliament’s recommendation to sanction 32 persons involved in the arrest, torture and murder of whistle-blowing Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

“We are writing to you in relation to the European Parliament Recommendation to the Council of 2 April 2014 on establishing common visa restrictions for Russian officials involved in the Sergei Magnitsky case. …As the new head of the European External Action Service, what nearest actions do you plan to undertake to follow through on this recommendation?” – said European Parliament deputies in their letter to Ms Mogherini – “We ask you now in your new position to answer these questions so the European Parliament can then take a view of what to do next to make sure there is no further impunity in the Magnitsky case.”

Since Sergei Magnitsky’s murder in Russian police detention five years ago, the only significant actions taken in Russia have been the posthumous trial of Sergei Magnitsky himself and the closure of the investigation into his death, which found “no signs of crime,” and absolved all officials from responsibility. The investigation was closed following President Putin’s public intervention at a December 2012 press conference, where he claimed that Magnitsky was not tortured, but “died from a heart attack.”

Sergei Magnitsky’s case and the impunity of the Russian officials involved have become a symbol of the endemic corruption and failing justice system in Russia, and highlighted the abuse that Russian citizens face when they challenge the authorities. The case lead to a dramatic movement in Russian civil society, calling on the West to create consequences for those involved and specifically to impose sanctions in the form of visa bans and freezes on assets in Western banks.

In response to the Russian impunity, on 2 April 2014 the European Parliament adopted a resolution without any objections requiring the European External Action Service, EU’s foreign affairs body, to propose the sanctions to the EU Council of Ministers.

Since the resolution was passed, no action was taken by Baroness Catherine Ashton, the previous head of the EU’s External Action Service.

In addition to the European Parliament’s actions in the Magnitsky case, the U.S. passed the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act” in December 2012, imposing sanctions on the complicit Russian officials. Additionally, the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), international organizations comprising up to 57 countries, passed resolutions urging their members and their national parliaments to adopt a course similar to the US by implementing Magnitsky sanctions.

Sergei Magnitsky was a 37-year old lawyer and outside counsel for the Hermitage Fund, who was tortured to death in Russian Interior Ministry custody after he testified about the involvement of Interior Ministry officials in the theft of his client’s companies and the $230 million theft. The Russian officials responsible for his arrest, torture and killing were absolved from any responsibility, promoted and decorated with state honours.

For more information, please contact:

Magnitsky Justice Campaign
+44 2074401777
info@lawandorderinrussia.org
lawandorderinrussia.org

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