Russia Expresses Anger Over E.U. Visa Restrictions

New York Times
By ELLEN BARRY

MOSCOW — Russian officials responded angrily on Thursday to a proposal that would deny European visas to a list of 60 officials who have been implicated in the death of Sergei L. Magnitsky, a lawyer who died in pretrial detention in Moscow last year.

Konstantin I. Kosachev, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the State Duma, condemned the proposed ban as “Bolshevik tactics” and said Russia might be forced to “very harshly retaliate” if the proposal went forward.

He said such pressure “could have extremely negative consequences for the entire relationship between Russia and the European Union.” Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the move “direct interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state, and open pressure on the judicial system of the Russian Federation.”

The comments were in response to action by the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, which unanimously approved language recommending that European Union countries deny visas to 60 officials in the Russian Interior Ministry, prosecutorial Investigative Committee and prison administration, as well as to 12 judges.

The language, part of the Parliament’s annual report on human rights, will go to the full body for approval in December. But European Union countries would not be bound by its language.

The committee’s vote follows on the heels of an April recommendation by United States Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, that the State Department deny visas to the officials, a group now known in Russia as “Cardin’s List.”

Mr. Magnitsky died on Nov. 16, 2009, after being held for more than 11 months on suspicion of tax fraud. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Magnitsky was working as outside counsel for Hermitage Capital Management, an international investment fund whose founder, William F. Browder, was involved in a bitter feud with the Russian authorities.

Mr. Browder had accused Russian officials of using his companies to embezzle $230 million from the Russian Treasury. Last week, on the anniversary of Mr. Magnitsky’s death, police officials announced that they had evidence that Mr. Magnitsky was responsible for the theft. займы онлайн на карту срочно hairy woman https://zp-pdl.com/how-to-get-fast-payday-loan-online.php https://zp-pdl.com/fast-and-easy-payday-loans-online.php hairy woman