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NPR: State Department Reportedly Revokes Visa Of Magnitsky Act Campaigner
CEO of Hermitage Capital Management Ltd., William Browder speaking with The Associated Press in Davos, Switzerland in 2011.
Virginia Mayo/AP
The State Department has reportedly revoked a visa for British citizen Bill Browder, a hedge-fund manager-turned human-rights activist responsible for the Magnitsky Act. The 2012 U.S. law is aimed at punishing Russian officials believed responsible for the death in a Moscow prison of Sergei Magnitsky, who was allegedly beaten and denied medical care.
The cancelling of Browder’s visa came on the same day that the Kremlin issued yet another international arrest warrant for him via Interpol.
Not only did Putin add me to the Interpol list, but the US simultaneously revoked my visa. @jaynordlinger explains http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/452978/why-bill-browder-banned-america …
Why Is Bill Browder Banned from America?, by Jay Nordlinger, National Review
Vladimir Putin keeps putting William Browder on Interpol’s wanted list, or trying to. As far as I’m concerned, these attempts are the equivalent of medals of freedom. Remember who Browder is: He is…
nationalreview.com
The Magnitsky Act, which freezes the assets and bans visas for certain Russians, including those close to Vladimir Putin “touched off a nasty confrontation with the Kremlin, and the two sides have been trying ever since to undermine the credibility of the other. Recently, however, Russian prosecutors have taken that effort to a remarkable new level, claiming that Mr. Magnitsky was actually murdered by Mr. Browder,” according to The New York Times.
Browder, who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in July, was once the largest private foreign investor in Russia. Magnitsky was his accountant and attorney. You can hear him here in a July interview with NPR, with a thorough take here by NPR’s Miles Parks.
As NPR’s Greg Myre reported in July:
“The Magnitsky Act re-emerged has a front-burner topic … in connection with the investigations surrounding President Trump’s campaign and possible links to Russian meddling in last year’s presidential race.
Russia has lobbied hard for repeal of the act. That’s what Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya said she was doing when she met with Donald Trump Jr. in June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York.”
Euobserver writes that, as in the previous four “Red Notices” rejected by Interpol, the latest such notice exploits a loophole called a “diffusion notice.”
According to the websites:
“Interpol rejected them all on grounds that they were politically motivated, but Interpol member states can file diffusions without any oversight.
“The diffusions, which are circulated to all members, often stay in national police databases even if Interpol later deletes them from its central system.”
The latest move by Russia has angered defenders of Browder, including Michael McFaul, the ambassador to Russia under President Obama from 2012-2014.
McFaul tweeted “this is outrageous,” and called on President Trump and the State Department to “fix this now.”
This is outrageous. @realDonaldTrump , @StateDept et al, fix this now. Now. Do not join Putin’s campaign against @Billbrowder. https://twitter.com/Billbrowder/status/922199750547509248 …
McFaul’s concern was picked up by Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who was fired earlier this year by President Trump. Bharara “seconded” McFaul in the retweet, adding in a subsequent tweet that Russia’s allegation that Browder may have murdered Magnitsky is a “farce.”
CorrectionOct. 23, 2017
A previous headline for this story said the State Department had reportedly revoked a visit for Browder. It was a visa that was revoked.
Chile becomes latest Latin American nation to resettle Syrian refugees
By: Emily Green
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
SANTIAGO, Chile – Chilean President Michelle Bachelet welcomed 66 Syrian refugees to the country on Thursday. Chile is the latest Latin American nation to offer safe harbor to families displaced by Syria’s civil war.
The refugees were welcomed during a ceremony at the airport in the country’s capital, Santiago. President Bachelet and a UN Refugee Agency representative, Michele Manca di Nissa, greeted 14 families who were forced to flee their homes because of the Syrian civil war.
“We know you have struggled and what we hope is that, in our country, you will find a place to rebuild your lives,” Bachelet said.
The 34 adults and 32 children arrived from Lebanon last week. Chile plans to resettle them in two communities, Villa Almana and Macul. The families will be given furnished homes and social benefits such as monthly stipends, schooling, and healthcare. Each refugee will attend intensive Spanish-language classes to help them adjust to life in Chile. They will also have access to psycho-social professionals from Vicaría de Pastoral Social Caritas, the organization that will follow up and help them integrate.
These Syrian refugees went through a pre-departure orientation session with experienced trainers from the International Organization for Migration. These sessions prepared them for the initial period of resettlement by teaching them about life in Chile. They were provided accurate information to help them make realistic plans for the future.
Additionally, they will receive continued help to make sure they are settled in the community. The children will attend local schools and kindergartens starting in March next year. Also, the adults will receive help finding employment. Chile aims to make these families autonomous and self-sufficient as fast as possible. The host communities aims to facilitate their access to basic healthcare services and help them feel at home. Chile’s Syrian community is actively participating in supporting these refugees.
Chile extends this welcome as part of its refugee resettlement program in which it aims to resettle 120 highly vulnerable Syrian refugees from Lebanon. This program is supported by the UN and is being used in several other Latin American countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia. These nations have begun accepting refugees in small numbers in an effort to help the humanitarian crisis.
The United Nations reports that more than 2 million people fleeing wars and persecution have become refugees in 2017. The United States and several European countries have started to tighten their borders and implement more restrictive asylum policies.
Currently, Chile is home to 1,736 recognized refugees. Most of these refugees are from Colombia. Since 1999, Chile has resettled 480 refugees of various nationalities. Some of these resettled refugees have been able to obtain Chilean nationality.
For further information, please see:
UNHCR – Chile becomes latest country to resettle Syrian refugees – 13 October 2017
U.S. News – Chile Welcomes More Than 60 Syrian Refugees – 12 October 2017
British Human Rights Activist Denied Entry to Hong Kong
By: Katherine Hewitt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
HONG KONG – The city of Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997 from its Colonial overseer, the UK. As part of this deal, Beijing would honor a system called the “one country, two systems” that would allow Hong Kong to remain more open and more democratic than the rest of China. It also allows Hong Kong to control its own immigration policies.
However, this ‘one country, two systems” idea was challenged when a British Human Rights activist, Benedict Rogers, was denied entry into Hong Kong by Chinese Immigration officers. Carrie Lam, the chief executive of Hong Kong implied that Beijing officials were behind the decision.
Even with repeatedly asking why he was turned away, Rogers was never given any explanation as to the reasoning. He further went on to say, “I feel it is yet another example of, if not the death, then the death throes of ‘one country, two systems’.” The purpose of his trip was to visit friends and learn about the current political situation.
In the past Rogers was vocal about the imprisonment of three pro-democratic activists and Beijing’s political crackdowns in Hong Kong. The Chinese Embassy in the UK warned Rogers that he might be banned from traveling to Hong Kong.
Human Rights activists see this action form Beijing as a threat to the “high degree of autonomy” that Hong Kong was granted in 1997 with the “one country, two systems” policy. There is a chance that any dissidents will be banned from entering Hong Kong in the future. Denying entry to the UK activist is seen as part of Beijing’s efforts to crack down on dissent and silence opposition.
China says they hold the right to deny entry to Hong Kong. They justify this by saying that the central government is in control of the foreign matters related to the city. This is allowed within China’s sovereignty.
For more information, please see:
The Guardian – British Conservative party activist barred from entering Hong Kong – 11 October 2017
Merkel Agrees to Limit Refugees Entering Germany
By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
BERLIN, Germany – German Chancellor Angela Merkel has agreed to limit the number of refugees allowed to enter Germany each year to 200,000, a decision that has elicited both support and criticism in the nation.
The German Christian Social Union and the Christian Democratic Union were in talks for hours before an agreement could be reached.
Many German voters had been angered with Merkel’s previous open-door policy, which effectively allowed in anyone who could reach the country. In 2015, this policy allowed over one million people in.
In July, Merkel stated “on the issue of an upper limit, my position is clear. I won’t accept one.”
Many see the policy as a concession to the demands of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, which was propelled in September’s elections where Merkel lost millions of voters. The AfD campaigned on an anti-Islam, anti-migrant platform, becoming the third largest party in Parliament. The new measure is seen in many as a way of winning back voters.
Many believe that Merkel must negotiate with smaller parties in order to form a cohesive coalition government. Ms. Merkel believes the policy is necessary, saying that “Germany needs a stable government and the prerequisite for this was a common negotiating position.”
In 2016, the number of refugees capped at 280,000. That number has since fallen drastically, with fewer than 124,000 people applying for asylum in the first eight months of 2017. Experts are saying that the proposed limit is in line with current immigration trends.
The new policy is not being described as a limit, as no one who is seeking asylum will be turned away at the borders once the 200,000 limit has been reached. The figure can be altered should a new refugee crisis emerge.
The policy is being criticized, with Karl Kopp, director for European Affairs at Pro Asyl, a German refugee charity, saying that the policy is “not compatible with international law” and “totally unacceptable.”
Simone Peters, head of the Green Party, claimed that “The figure is completely arbitrary, fixed purely ideologically. As far as we’re concerned the fundamental right to asylum applies. When you throw together asylum seekers, refugee contingents, resettlement programs and family members joining refugees all in one pot, and then set a limit of 200,000, one group will be thrown under the bus.”
For more information, please see:
CNN – Merkel Changes Tune on German Refugee Cap – 9 October 2017
The Guardian – Germany: Merkel Agrees to 200,000 Refugees Cap in Bid to Build Coalition – 9 October 2017
The New York Times – Germany’s Angela Merkel Agrees to Limits on Accepting Refugees – 9 October 2017