US lawmakers decry Russia vote, warn of blacklist
US lawmakers rebuked Moscow’s leadership Wednesday for “manipulating” recent elections, and urged legislation to blacklist any Russian believed responsible for rights violations from traveling to the United States.
At a US Senate hearing focused on corruption and rule of law in Russia, days after tens of thousands of demonstrators marched charging electoral fraud, State Department officials said they recognized a “national awakening” among Russian citizens calling for accountability of their government.
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“Principled and Purposeful Engagement:” US Policy on Supporting Human Rights and Rule of Law in Russia
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Melia, co-chair of the Civil Society Working Group of the US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission, today argued for “principled and purposeful engagement” with Russia in a Senate hearing on “The State of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Russia: U.S. Policy Options.” DAS Melia and Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon outlined the Obama Administration’s position in regard to Russia. Their testimony can be downloaded and watched here. From a civil society perspective, Freedom House Executive David Kramer, Human Rights Watch Washington Director Tom Malinowski, and President and CEO of the US-Russia Business Council, Edward Verona, testified as well; while their testimony is not yet uploaded on the Foreign Relations website, it should be up within 24 hours of this posting.
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After Russian Vote, U.S. Pledges to Raise Concerns ‘Forcefully’
The Obama administration plans to continue speaking out “forcefully” about human rights violations in Russia, even after Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin responded angrily to criticism of his country’s elections by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, a top State Department official said Wednesday.
The official, Phil Gordon, assistant secretary of state for Europe, welcomed a call from President Dmitri A. Medvedev for an investigation of the Dec. 4 parliamentary elections but said the United States would not hesitate to keep pressing Moscow for greater accountability and respect for human rights.
But any action in Russia is unlikely before Dec. 21, when a new parliament is seated.
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Cardin says US must Address Human Rights Violations in Rusia
“If we want to have normal trade relations with Russia – if they want to have normal trade relations with the U.S. — we have a right to expect that they will abide by basic human rights”
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Co-Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, today strengthened his call for consequences for those in Russia who have trampled on fundamental freedoms and human rights. At a hearing of the European Affairs Subcommittee, Senator Cardin laid out his case for the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, which he and 25 other senators have sponsored. Not limited to just Russia, the Magnitsky bill would invoke a travel ban against serious violators of human rights, freeze any of their assets held in the U.S. and publish their names — a powerful deterrent for those craving respectability and legitimacy in the West.
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Senate must send signal to Russia
McFaul faces many challenges — and Russian leaders will likely make the job more difficult. Russian officials have recently declared that they may soon aim mid-range missiles at Europe, threatened to close a critical supply line into Afghanistan and blocked U.N. Security Council sanctions of a murderous regime in Syria. These facts only serve to increase the urgency in getting him to Moscow.
Second, once McFaul is confirmed, the Senate can give him new soft power tools that can underscore U.S. support for the Russian people and their calls for freedom and democracy.
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Undermine Putin
Now is the time to undermine Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. With major protests going on in response to the recent fraudulent parliamentary elections, with Mikhail Prokhorov announcing that he is likely to challenge Putin for the presidency in the next election, and with major ferment in Russia, it is the best time to further undermine Putin’s control structure by holding human rights violators accountable. And there are several efforts underway to do just that in Congress.
Consider the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Ac
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Statement by United Civil Front Chairman Garry Kasparov
Statement by United Civil Front Chairman Garry Kasparov
Prepared on December 12, 2011
Just two days ago, my country of Russia saw the largest public protests since the fall of the Soviet Union twenty years ago. Well over a hundred thousand Russians took to the streets, over 40,000 in Moscow alone. The fraudulent parliamentary elections of the previous week were the spark for the protesters’ outrage, but the fuel of the fire is the increasingly dictatorial regime of Vladimir Putin and his puppet, Dmitri Medvedev. So far, their regime’s response to the overwhelming rejection of their corruption and oppression has been to ignore it. Putin plans to return as president in March, 2012, in what will surely be another fraudulent election, with the term of office now having been extended to six years.
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The Russian Spring Has Begun
There is a remarkable consistency over the course of Russian history: Every authoritarian regime perished not because of destiny’s blows or enemy onslaught but because of internal disease. In the 20th century, it happened twice: the February Revolution of 1917 and Mikhail Gorbachev’s Perestroika.
The slow-motion collapse of Vladimir Putin’s regime is no different. After more than a decade of authoritarian rule, Mr. Putin’s self-described “glorious deeds” have become the object of contempt not just on opposition websites but increasingly on the streets of Moscow and in the mainstream media.
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Fighting corruption in Russia: No cause for celebration
On December 9, the world marked International Anti-Corruption Day. For Russia, this is something of a professional holiday, as it has found itself in an unenviable position in numerous anti-corruption ratings in the past few years.
Yelena Panfilova, General Director of the Center for Anti-Corruption Research and Initiative of Transparency International Russia and a member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights
Over the past three to four years, the Russian government has focused attention on fighting bribery. The government should use International Anti-Corruption Day as an opportunity to talk about its successful anti-graft measures and highlight its achievements. At the very least, it should mark, if not celebrate, this day.
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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
