John McCain & “The Magnitsky Files” Premiere Discussion in Washington, DC
26 June 2012, William Browder, Sen. John McCain, and David Kramer, Director of Freedom House, were in attendance to screen the premiere of “The Magnitsky Files”, a new film detailing the crimes committed before, during, and after their persecution of Sergei Magnitsky. This is the discussion they had afterwards with a Q&A.
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Magnitsky Act’s sponsor may be denied entrance to Russia
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, the sponsor of the contentious Magnitsky Act, may be denied entrance to Russia, Izvestia daily reports on Monday.
The newspaper says Russia’s parliament is discussing a large group of individuals, including the U.S. Consul General in Vladivostok Douglas Kent, as well as Drug Enforcement Agency officers Scott Hacker and Derek Odney, who are involved in the case of Russian businessman Viktor Bout.
Entry may be denied under draft law On Measures against Individuals Involved in Violation of Russian Citizens’ Rights Abroad, talk of which may soon be resumed in parliament.
The draft was submitted to the lower house in June 2011 and it may be adopted if the United States passes the Magnitsky Act.
Some MPs do not consider it an appropriate response to Washington. Deputy foreign relations committee head Leonid Kalashnikov thinks that a more radical step is required.
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Magnitsky Act: Congress Should Uphold America’s Commitment to Human Rights
On Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relation Committee unanimously passed the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, which would ban Russian officials involved in Magnitsky’s death from entering the U.S. and using U.S. financial institutions. The bill was cleared earlier this month by a House committee.
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov called the Senate committee’s decision “counterproductive” and threatened “harsh” retaliation, including banning certain U.S. officials from visiting Russia. This past May, the Russian ambassador also threatened to retaliate if the Magnitsky act becomes law.
Be that as it may, the Obama Administration and Congress should not yield to Russian threats but should uphold America’s commitment to human rights. Russian officials should have thanked American lawmakers for stepping in where Russian law enforcement failed abysmally.
Magnitsky’s in a Russian prison is a demonstration of rampant corruption in the Russian state’s highest echelons. Magnitsky was a 37-year-old attorney and accountant who worked for Hermitage, then the largest Western private equity fund in Russia. In the course of his work, he uncovered a giant alleged corruption scheme that involved embezzlements of $230 million from the Russian treasury by law enforcement and tax officials.
After making accusations, he was placed in prison, where he was beaten mercilessly by guards and denied medical care, which led to his tragic death. An investigation by the Russian Presidential Council on Human Rights has confirmed as much. However, this has not resulted in the punishment of those involved. On the contrary, some of the culprits were even promoted and decorated.
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Magnitsky Human Rights Sanctions Advance in Senate, Russia’s Thugs on Notice
Although it has never been difficult to distinguish between genuine opponents of Vladimir Putin’s regime and the bogus “opposition” tasked with imitating political pluralism, some episodes have been especially indicative. One watershed was the 2008 Georgia war, when many supposed opposition leaders supported Putin’s actions and even urged him to be more aggressive (among the few Russian politicians who spoke out against the invasion was Mikhail Kasyanov).
Another litmus test—perhaps an even more important one—is the Magnitsky Act, a US Congressional initiative which seeks to impose a visa ban and asset freeze on Russian officials involved in violating human rights. The bipartisan measure, which this week passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a unanimous vote (after clearing the counterpart committee in the House—also unanimously—on June 7th), is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Moscow lawyer who was arrested, tortured, and died in prison after uncovering a $230 million tax fraud scheme involving government officials. As well as those implicated in Magnitsky’s persecution and death, the bill covers officials responsible for any “extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights”, which include the “freedoms of religion, expression, association, and assembly and the rights to a fair trial and democratic elections.”
The Kremlin’s reaction has been predictable—though still astounding in its defense of murderers, swindlers, and thieves. But, for many observers, the behavior of the official “opposition” was even more eye-opening. Ivan Melnikov, the deputy speaker of the Duma and one of the leaders of the Communist Party, joined the Kremlin in defending abusers, accusing the United States of “creating an instrument…to harass Russian citizens who, for one reason or another, are not liked by the American authorities.” On the substance of the case, Melnikov asserted that “Magnitsky is not the end-all of this world”. (After all, what is the death of one man to a party that had killed millions—and not even apologized for it?) Another “opposition” heavyweight, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the leader of the ultranationalist LDPR party, went even further, accusing Russian citizens who support Western visa sanctions on Putin regime officials of “betraying the national interests of Russia.” Russia’s national interests have been defined in many ways, but the ability of crooks and murderers to vacation and keep their money abroad has, until now, never been one of them.
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Russian Experts Say Moscow Should Not ‘Overreact’ To Usa’s Magnitskiy Bill
The so-called Magnitskiy Bill, approved by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on 26 June, is designed to replace the Jackson-Vanik amendment as an instrument of influence on Russia, Russian political experts told Interfax, RIA Novosti and One Russia (United Russia) official website on 27 June.
The president of the Institute of Strategic Evaluations, Aleksandr Konovalov, said the adoption of Magnitskiy Bill would go hand in hand with the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik (JV) amendment that remains an obstacle for the US business in Russia.
“Everyone in the USA realizes that the (JV) amendment is getting too outdated, harming US economic interests. The Magnitskiy Bill is a replacement of some sort. Losing one instrument of influence, the (US) Congress aims to have a new one,” he was quoted on One Russia website on 27 June.
The political scientist and Russian MP Vyacheslav Nikonov commented that the bill would most probably be adopted simultaneously with repealing the Jackson-Vanik amendment. Though “the adoption of a harsh sanction such as Magnitskiy Bill would be an unprecedented measure that had not been taken even in the most difficult period of the Cold War”, One Russia website quoted Nikonov as saying.
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Magnitsky showdown nears
The Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. Senate backed on Tuesday the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, which, if passed by Congress and the U.S. president, will impose sanctions on some 60 Russian officials.
The bill will deny entry to the United States and freeze the accounts of those allegedly responsible for the persecution and death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who was allegedly killed in jail in 2009 after exposing a graft scheme for a tax refund of $230 million set up by a group of Russian law enforcers, tax officers and judges.
Supported unanimously by the Senate’s panel, the bill has fairly good chances of being adopted. “The White House has never indicated an inclination to veto this legislation,” the office of the bill’s sponsor, Senator Ben Cardin, told The Moscow News.
The only way the bill can be withdrawn is if Russia starts a murder investigation into the death of Magnitsky and the crime he exposed, U.S. lawmakers say.
“If Russia was to prosecute those responsible for Sergei Magnitsky’s death, there would no longer be a need to include those individuals on the public list,” Cardin’s office said.
However, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office started a criminal case against Magnitsky himself last August, charging him with embezzlement of the same $230 million in tax refunds.
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Russia’s growth stifled by corruption
President Vladimir Putin has said he wants to make Russia the fifth-biggest economy in the world.
It currently stands at number 11.
He wants to boost foreign investment as part of his new economic plan.
But some foreign investors are worried about Mr Putin’s return as head of state for another term of six years after allegations of vote-rigging and protests both before and following his re-election.
Furthermore, despite Russia’s rich resources and its place among the world’s fastest-growing economies, there remains a general feeling that the country is underperforming and falling far short of its potential.
According to Angus Roxburgh, former BBC Moscow correspondent and later a public-relations adviser to the Kremlin, there is one overriding reason why Russia is failing to achieve its economic potential and failing to attract outside investors: corruption.
Worsening scenario
“It is something the government acknowledges but seems powerless to combat, despite a regular stream of anti-corruption decrees and initiatives,” he says.
“In fact, it gets worse year by year. According to official figures, the average bribe in Russia is more than $10,000,” he notes.
Transparency International, which ranks countries according to perceived levels of corruption, says Russia has slumped from 46th place in 1996 to 143rd in 2011 .
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OJULAND: “MAGNITSKY ACT” IS A SURGICAL STRIKE ON CORRUPTION”
“I am extremely pleased with this visit, as it allows Americans to get acquainted in-depth with the EU policy towards Russia which is our strategic partner – said Ambassador Vale del Almeida greeting MEP Kristiina Ojuland – reporter on ‘Magnitsky Law’ in premises of the EU delegation.
On the one hand, none of the serious problems of international agenda as the conflict in Syria, or Iran’s nuclear program can be solved without Russia’s participation, on the other hand, we can’t practice “real-politics” turning a blind eye to human rights problems in Russia. Genuine partnership requires an open exchange of views, including criticism. “, – continued del Almeida.
Arriving of the MEP Kristiina Ojuland to Washngton at the voting day for “Magnitsky Act” in the Senat is not a mere coincidence. More recently Ojulnad, appointed as a reporter on the case of Magnitsky in the European Parliament, – will participate in the conference “Towards Democratic Russia” with Senators Benjamin Cardin and Kelly Ayotte – which will be held on June 27 at the Congress.
Further Ojuland planned the meetings with representatives of different political forces, in particular, with Senator McCain. “We live in times of an individual, not collective responsibility, so the replacement of “Jackson-Vanik amendment’ to the “Magnitsky Law” is a fair and modern solution for fighting corruption – said Ojuland. – ‘Magnitsky Law” – is a surgical strike on corruption, it is not directed against the Russian people. ” Despite the approval of the Senate to become law, “bill Magnitsky” should get the green light in the U.S. House of Representatives that will not happen before the autumn of this year.
However, the opinion of senators has significantly advanced the struggle for justice for the deceased Sergei Magnitsky and against corruption in Russia in general. “In the European Parliament there is a growing interest for the idea of” ‘Magnitsky law” among representatives of different political forces.
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Kremlin’s Omerta Blocks Justice for Magnitsky
After the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved the Magnitsky Act on Tuesday, the bill is one step closer to becoming law.
Unlike the House version of the act, which targets only suspected and convicted Russian criminals, the Senate’s version effectively de-emphasizes Russia by applying visa restrictions and asset freezes to suspected and convicted criminals all over the world.
It was almost as if the Senate was trying to say to President Putin: “Nothing personal, Vladimir. We are against all criminals, not just Russian ones.”
But this seeming nod to Russia was lost on Putin. During the Group of 20 summit last week, he said once again that if the bill becomes law, Russia would apply symmetrical measures against Americans. Essentially, he was saying Russia would “retaliate,” to pull an old Cold War term out of the closet.
But presumably Russian authorities would ban convicted and suspected U.S. criminals from entering Russia anyway, regardless of the Magnitsky Act. Let’s hope that Russia’s “retaliation” doesn’t mean it will pick Americans at random — innocent businessmen, journalists or academics who are working in Russia or who want to work there — just to show Washington that it can make its own “symmetrical” blacklist if push comes to shove.
Amid all the bluster and feigned indignation around the Magnitsky Act, Putin is conveniently ignoring the fact that there has been a “Magnitsky list” of sorts used by both the United States and Russia for decades. Washington has always denied visas to convicted and suspected criminals.
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To learn more about what happened to Sergei Magnitsky please read below
- Sergei Magnitsky
- Why was Sergei Magnitsky arrested?
- Sergei Magnitsky’s torture and death in prison
- President’s investigation sabotaged and going nowhere
- The corrupt officers attempt to arrest 8 lawyers
- Past crimes committed by the same corrupt officers
- Petitions requesting a real investigation into Magnitsky's death
- Worldwide reaction, calls to punish those responsible for corruption and murder
- Complaints against Lt.Col. Kuznetsov
- Complaints against Major Karpov
- Cover up
- Press about Magnitsky
- Bloggers about Magnitsky
- Corrupt officers:
- Sign petition
- Citizen investigator
- Join Justice for Magnitsky group on Facebook
- Contact us
- Sergei Magnitsky