Posts Tagged ‘harper’
Canadian democrats appeal to Harper for help on Ukraine
Editor’s Note: The following is an open letter sent April 27 to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper from the Canadian Group for Democracy in Ukraine.
Dear Prime Minister Harper:
Again we seek your help. The deterioration of democracy in Ukraine is reaching a critical point. Canada, in large part through the good offices of your government, has been a vital critic of Ukraine’s horrendous treatment of its political opposition.
The statement by Yulia Tymoshenko on April 24th concerning her beating puts the spotlight clearly on the dangers she faces personally, and the dire consequences of no further action by the international community. We strongly support the position taken by the Canada Ukraine Foundation and the World Congress of Ukrainians in this matter.
We implore you to communicate Canada’s deep concern in the strongest possible terms.
There are meaningful expressions of concern from many other like-minded countries and grass roots–from the cancellation of the visit to Ukraine by Germany’s president, to Dutch women urging their husband to boycott the Euro 2012 vents in protest of Tymosenko’s abuses. Canada stands out as a country with particular bonds to Ukraine and it is our sincere hope that our valuable diplomatic initiatives can, and will, bear fruit.
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Britain Bans Entry to Russian Officials Linked to Magnitsky Case
Britain has banned entry to 60 Russian officials implicated in the Sergei Magnitsky case, The Daily Telegraph reported.
A list drafted by the U.S. Helsinki Commission, chaired by Senator Benjamin Cardin, contained the names of officials suspected of being involved in a $230 million tax fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for investment fund Hermitage Capital, or in Magnitsky’s death in prison in 2009.
The Magnitsky law was passed by the Senate in December and requires the White House to publish the names of those suspected of human rights violations, including those linked to the fraud uncovered by Magnitsky or to his death.
In April, the U.S. Treasury Department published a list 18 officials who are subject to visa bans and asset freezes in the United States.
The Home Office’s ban was contained in a previously unreported Parliamentary response in April to a written question from Dominic Raab.
Mr Raab, the Conservative MP for Esher & Walton, asked the Home Office if any of the 60 Russians named on the draft list had visited the UK in the last year.
In response, immigration minister Mark Harper said: “The Home Office Special Cases Directorate is already aware of the individuals on the list and has taken the necessary measures to prevent them being issued visas for travel to the UK.”
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Russian suspects in Sergei Magnitsky death barred from entry to UK
Tory MP calls for legislation against Russians accused of involvement in tax fraud whistleblower’s death in prison.
Sixty Russians accused of involvement in the torture and death of the tax fraud whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky have been banned from entering the UK.
Magnitsky died in a Russian prison in 2009, a year after being arrested following his conclusion of a corruption investigation that pointed the finger at a host of low-level Russian officials. A report by the Kremlin’s human rights commission found signs that the 37-year-old lawyer had been beaten.
The US passed a bill last year blocking people related to the Magnitsky case from entering the country and blocking their assets, and the European parliament has called for member states to follow suit. It has now emerged that the government has banned people identified on a US list from entering the UK.
The ban was revealed in a previously unreported response to a written question from the Conservative MP Dominic Raab, who asked whether “any of the 60 individuals named on the list published by the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe … have visited the UK in the last year”.
The immigration minister Mark Harper replied in April: “The Home Office special cases directorate is already aware of the individuals on the list and has taken the necessary measures to prevent them being issued visas for travel to the UK.”
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