US House Committee of Foreign Affairs votes Unanimously for the Sergey Magnitsky Bill

International Criminal Law Bureau

The human rights situation in Russia has long held a position in the agenda of the international human rights community. While several inter-governmental institutions and States have denounced the stifling of free speech and freedom of assembly, the harassment of journalists, the disappearances and the torture, any effort to tackle these issues cannot be described by such institutions and league of states as anything else than a failure. Upon an exposed disappearance one can count on strong words by the EU, the US and others. One can also count on the fact that not one government official will call their counterparts in Moscow and press them to investigate and bring those responsible to justice. Russia is a country with increasing number of middle class consumers and rich in natural resources. The conventional wisdom goes that Europe and US need the trade with Russia. This wisdom also trusts that the problems with human rights never spill into the area of international business. On 16 November 2009 this was proven wrong.

Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky died on that day in the Matrosskaya Tishina Prison in Moscow, Russia. He was a young, bright tax-lawyer, working for an internationallaw firm Firestone Duncan in Moscow. He loved his job. He loved his country. When he noticed that some corrupt officials were trying to steal $230,000,000 from their client, the Hermitage Capital Management fund, he reported this to the police. Instead of investigating this, the authorities had Sergey arrested. In prison they pressured him to sign a declaration to the effect that his report was false. He refused. On the evening of 16 November, the ambulance crew waited outside his prison door until he was dead. He had endured nearly 12 months of abuse.

The authorities thought that as with their other sanctioned acts of barbarism, the storm of criticism over this would also blow over in time. But after over two years, it remains on the global front page.

The reason for this is that they killed the wrong person. Corporate executives and civil servants understand that people like Anna Politkovskaya and Natalya Estemirova can easily endanger their lives in Russia but conclude quickly that this is not an ill of the corporate and diplomatic world. The problem for the Kremlin is that Moscow is full of Sergeys: lawyers and professionals working for multinational corporations and international firms. They do not feel safe. Their headquarters feel uneasy and unsure of their operations in Russia. The conventional understanding that abuse does not encroach trade applies no more.

In condemnation, for the first time, the international community and the corporate world came together. The results are historic.

On 7 June the US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted unanimously in favour of a Bill titled “Sergey Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012″. The act will impose visa bans and asset freezes on those Russian officials involved in the torture and murder of Sergey. William Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management said, “The vote in the US will create
a solid precedent that will be followed by Europe, Canada and other countries concerned with the deterioration of human rights in Russia.” Over a year before, the European Parliament had already made an official recommendation to the same effect, to all of the EU Member States.

Such smart, targeted sanctions hit Russia where it hurts. Rather than targeting the wider population, those truly responsible would be prevented from stacking their money into foreign accounts and holding holiday homes in cosy destinations. More importantly, this will provide protection to those individuals who live and work in Russia, perhaps even to those who choose to speak up when confronted with corruption or worse.

It is for this reason that the Russian administration has felt for the first time that a measure of this kind is worth commenting on. Worth getting furious about, in fact. Russian ambassadors have been shuttling around the offices of diplomats and parliamentarians, while large delegations have frequented the European Parliament, the House of Representatives and elsewhere, at times threatening their hosts, at times attempting to blackmailing them. To no avail.

Indeed, there are already initiatives in UK, Sweden, Italy, Canada and Netherlands to follow suit.

The day of judgment seems to be nearing for the Kremlin.

Eeva Heikkilä is a pupil barrister at 9 Bedford Row International займы на карту микрозайм онлайн www.zp-pdl.com https://www.zp-pdl.com быстрые займы на карту