William Browder: Many people in London or Geneva have blood on their hands from handling blood money from former Soviet states
William Browder, the Founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, turned campaigner and began to wage war for justice after one of his lawyers, Sergei Magnitsky, was killed in a Moscow prison.
As a result of Browder’s relentless campaign, the US adopted the so-called Magnitsky Act which imposes restrictions against a number of Russian citizens allegedly involved in Magnitsky’s tragic death. Magnitsky’s “crime” was that he uncovered a huge corruption scheme with trails leading to Russian official circles. In an interview for The Ukrainian Week, William Browder spoke about his fight for justice.
UW: What was the Magnitsky case all about?
Effectively what happened in the Magnitsky case is that the Russian government has refused to hold anyone accountable for the false arrest, torture and death of Sergey Magnitsky, or for the crimes that he uncovered. As a result the only way that we could get any measure of justice was to look outside of Russia in the form of different sanctions passed in different countries, freezing the assets of people who did this and so on. In order to do that, we had to tell the story of what happened to Sergey Magnitsky. The Russian government has been trying to thwart our every step of the way in terms of our objective of getting sanctions.
One of their options was through this latest High Court case in London which was filed by an unemployed ex-police officer, Pavel Karpov, in which he accuses us of libel. The objective of this was also to get an injunction so we could not say things about him or others. The High Court threw the case out saying that it was an abuse of the courts and that the whole approach here was artificial and incredible. As a result, the main tool they were trying to use to silence us failed and so, a big barrier to our speaking the truth and seeking justice has been taken away.
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Europe Urged To Adopt Russia Sanctions After Brutal Death Of Whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky
European nations could begin imposing tough sanctions on Russia for its failure to investigate the suspicious death of a whistleblowing lawyer, who was exposing official corruption.
The body which advises the Council of Europe has said European nations should adopt “targeted sanctions” against individuals involved in the death of Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, unless immediate steps are taken by Russia to investigate his death. Human rights campaigners have greeted the recommendation as a key victory.
Possible sanctions may include more visa bans and the freezing of accounts “if the competent authorities in Russia fail to respond adequately to its demands within a reasonable period of time,” the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
The resolution approved on Tuesday, named ‘Refusing impunity for the killers of Sergei Magnitsky’, urged the Russian authorities to fully investigate the circumstances and background of Magnitsky’s death, and the possible criminal responsibility of all officials involved.
PACE does not have the power to enact the sanctions, only recommend that European member states uphold them. Parliamentarians described themselves as “appalled” by Magnitsky’s death in pre-trial detention in Moscow in 2009, and by the fact that none of the persons responsible have yet been punished.
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Russian Foreign Ministry disapproves of CoE’s idea of Magnitsky sanctions
Interfax
Talk about sanctions against the Russians who the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) believes played a part in the death of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in Moscow police custody, are counterproductive, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
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As Congress Goes Global on Human Rights, Will the Administration Follow?
Congress often plays an important corrective role when the Executive Branch puts pragmatism before principle on human rights. Last week, bipartisan pairs of senators did so again by introducing a new bill and pushing the Obama administration on implementing an existing one.
On January 15th, Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and John McCain (R-AZ) introduced the Global Human Rights Accountability Act (S. 1933), which would enact visa and banking bans on the most serious human rights violators around the world. China’s Communist Party would be a prime target of this new bill. Chinese officials responsible for the persecution of the Falun Gong, Uighurs, and Tibetans, and for the Tiananmen massacre of June 4, 1989, for starters, have turned up in the United States, sometimes even on visits to the U.S. Capitol.
The Cardin-McCain bill was inspired by the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act (Public Law 112-208), a Russia-specific law enacted in December 2012, and named after a lawyer who died of abuse in jail after he exposed a massive tax fraud. In December 2013, the Obama administration decided, without explanation, that it would not, for the time being, add names to a list compiled last April of individuals responsible for “gross” human rights abuses against Russians and who are now barred from traveling to the United States or using American financial institutions. That list included 18 mostly low- and mid-level officials associated with Mr. Magnitsky’s persecution and death. Two others are Chechens thought to be linked to political assassinations. Reportedly, a classified list included Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.
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Political carve-ups
The British Conservatives are managing to sideline themselves and in the process could become embroiled in some political nobbling.
It is easy to mock British Conservatives for their phobias. But their friendships are odd too. In the Council of Europe they are in the oddball European Democrats Group (EDG), along with Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, the Ukrainian Party of Regions (the party of the Viktor Yanukovych regime), and Turkey’s AK Party. The British Tories cannot link up with their natural and historic allies in the mainstream centre-right parties, because these are Europhiles and therefore unspeakable.
This weakens Britain’s influence in Europe. It also increases Russia’s clout. The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) may sound like a useless talking-shop, but it elects the body’s president and secretary-general. These positions, both up for election this year, set the tone for the Council’s approach on human rights. As the skies darken, this is ever-more important.
In 2008, Russia nearly succeeded in getting Mikhail Margelov elected as the PACE president. An amiable and eloquent bruiser, he has spearheaded the Kremlin’s counter-attack against its Western critics. He nearly won, because it was the EDG’s turn to have the top job (it rotates between the various groupings) and United Russia had persuaded the Tories to support their candidate.
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USA: Lawmakers Seek To Expand Magnitsky Act Beyond Russia
Extending the reach of the 2012 Magnitsky Act, US Senators have introduced a new bill that aims to block human rights abusers from any country, not just Russia, from entering the United States and using its financial institutions, reports RIA Novosti.
The Magnitsky Act, which was signed by US President Barack Obama in December 2012, places visa and financial bans on individuals linked to the 2009 death of Russian lawyer and whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky.
After Magnitsky uncovered and reported a US$230 million tax fraud to Russian authorities, he ended up in prison, charged with having committed the very fraud he reported. He later died in prison.
The newly introduced Global Human Rights Accountability Act expands upon the Magnitsky Act by targeting not only Russian officials but also “human rights abusers from anywhere in the world,” denying them entry into the US and banning them from using American financial institutions.
According to Senator Ben Cardin, who co-introduced the bill with Senator John McCain, the act ensures that “Gross violators of human rights from Zimbabwe to Ukraine, and Honduras to Papua New Guinea, are put on notice that they cannot escape the consequences of their actions even when their home country fails to act.”
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US Congress Seeks to Globalize Magnitsky Act
This week, a bipartisan group of US senators introduced a new bill, S.1933 (the Global Human Rights Accountability Act), that would extend across the world the targeted visa and financial sanctions on human rights abusers established by the Magnitsky Act. That law, passed in 2012, bans Russian officials who engage in gross human rights violations from traveling to and keeping assets in the United States. The new bill would extend these sanctions beyond Russia to human rights abusers in every country.
“Visiting the United States and having access to our financial system, including US dollars, are privileges that should not be extended to those who violate basic human rights and the rule of law,” Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland and author of the original Magnitsky Act, said in introducing S.1933. “Gross violators of human rights from Zimbabwe to Ukraine, and Honduras to Papua New Guinea, are put on notice that they cannot escape the consequences of their actions even when their home country fails to act.” “Standing up for the rule of law and establishing clear consequences for abuses of fundamental human rights serves our nation’s interests and reflects our deepest values,” added Senator John McCain, the Republican cosponsor of both measures.
The extension of sanctions makes perfect sense—human rights are universal, and so should be the accountability for their abuses. No doubt, S.1933 will enjoy broad bipartisan support in Congress—just like the Magnitsky Act, which passed the House of Representatives by 365–43, and the Senate by 92–4, almost unthinkable numbers in the current political environment in Washington.
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EU Links Easing of Visas to Russia’s Rights Record
An official from the European Union spoke out about several concerns over Russia during a visit to Moscow on Friday, warning that plans for a visa-free regime would be put on hold until issues of corruption and human rights are addressed.
The meeting came shortly after the EU decided to cut short a planned meeting with Russian leaders in Brussels later this month, a move which observers have attributed to an ongoing spat over Ukraine.
Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov said Friday’s meeting of the Russia-EU Permanent Partnership Council was more about preserving ties than anything else.
“We are trying not to turn our relations completely sour and maintain a certain level of dialogue,” Konovalov said after meeting with EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia MalmstrЪm, adding that the EU was not willing to take further steps in the dialogue for a visa-free regime with Russia.
Konovalov added that Russia was not going to pressure the EU over the visa deal. “We have a feeling that our colleagues in the EU are not committed and do not feel a need to eliminate the barriers between Russia and the EU,” he said.
Negotiations about the visa-free regime have been ongoing for more than 10 years, and Russia has accused the EU of deliberately delaying the process on several occasions. In December, Russia said it had prepared a visa agreement and that it hoped the EU would sign it at the next Russia-EU summit, which has now been shortened from two days to a few hours on Jan. 28.
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Situation in Russia
Once a year, the EU presidency and I meet with the Russian ministers of interior and justice for talks and deliberations on issues of mutual interest. These issues include cooperation against organized crime, especially trafficking in drugs and human beings, and terrorism. We also talk about migration, rule of law, corruption and visa issues. In recent years I have also made sure that human rights have been put on the agenda. This year’s meeting was held together with the Greek ministers, as well as the Italian Minister of Justice, since Italy is the incoming presidency after Greece.
We met in a cold and snowy Moscow, with the background setting of the current tense relations between the EU and Russia. We had an open exchange of views, but did not really make any progress in our cooperation. For a long time, we have been negotiating essential areas for moving towards a visa free regime with the EU and we should soon be able to agree on further measures to facilitate travelling to the EU for Russian citizens. To entirely abolish the visa requirement is a mutual aim, but a lot of work is yet to be done on the Russian side before this can become a reality. The remaining issues concern, for example, anti-corruption policy, document security, asylum issues and fighting discrimination and xenophobia.
The discussion on human rights took the most time. We are deeply concerned about the situation in Russia with regards to human rights. There are several examples of this situation, such as the new law requiring NGOs to register as “foreign agents”, the law banning homosexual “propaganda”, problems with the rule of law and arbitrary judicial processes, and court rulings against the opposition. I also brought up the Magnitsky case and repeated the demand for an independent investigation on the circumstances of his death.
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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
