18 December 2015 – In a ground-breaking move, United States Senate unanimously passed the Global Magnitsky bill. The bill officially called, “S.284 – Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act”, directs the President to sanction human rights violators from anywhere around the world. The specific sanctions are visa bans, asset freezes, and public placement on the US Treasury’s OFAC registry.
“This is the new technology for fighting human rights abuse and an important legacy for Sergei Magnitsky who gave up his life fighting for the truth in Russia,” said Bill Browder, author of “Red Notice”, a book dedicated to Sergei Magnitsky.
In December 2012, the US Congress adopted the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, which imposes visa and financial sanctions on violators of rights of human rights defenders in Russia.
The bill is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer, who uncovered the largest publicly-known corruption case in Russia involving the theft of $230 million. Sergei Magnitsky testified about it naming complicit Russian officials. He was arrested by some of the implicated officials, held in pre-trial detention for 358 days, and killed in Russian police custody on 16 November 2009. After Sergei Magnitsky’s death, the Russian government promoted and honoured officials involved in his detention and death.
The Global Magnitsky bill was sponsored in the Senate by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, and had 10 co-sponsors:
Sen Blumenthal, Richard [CT] – 1/28/2015
Sen Coons, Christopher A. [DE] – 7/23/2015
Sen Cruz, Ted [TX] – 2/25/2015
Sen Durbin, Richard [IL] – 1/28/2015
Sen Kirk, Mark Steven [IL] – 1/28/2015
Sen Markey, Edward J. [MA] – 1/28/2015
Sen McCain, John [AZ] – 1/28/2015
Sen Rubio, Marco [FL] – 1/28/2015
Sen Shaheen, Jeanne [NH] – 1/28/2015
Sen Wicker, Roger F. [MS] – 1/28/2015
The next step is for the House of Representatives to consider the bill.
For more information please contact:
Justice for Sergei Magnitsky
+44 207 440 1777
e-mail: info@lawandorderinrussia.org
Twitter: @KatieFisher__
www.facebook.com/russianuntouchables
