Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

Names and Stories from the Sergei Magnitsky Bill

Human Rights First

Last week, Russia became a full-fledged member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), completing a 19-year “long and winding” saga that began under President Yeltsin. With Russia’s accession to the WTO, the only fellow member that remains at a trade disadvantage with Russia now is the United States, which has yet to repeal the Jackson-Vanik Amendment and officially establish permanent trade relations with Russia.

The Obama Administration welcomed Russia’s WTO accession this week and urged Congress to repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment. Even so, there are still signs that it may not come up for a vote when Congress returns next month. The hold-up is mostly due to disagreements over the details of another bill, the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012.   That bill would establish visa bans and assets freezes on individuals responsible for gross violations of human rights in Russia.

In effect, Congress is avoiding this vote and decisive action on human rights policy in Russia because it doesn’t want to “reward” the Kremlin, which continues to undermine the basic human rights of its citizens. It is still unclear whether the Magnistky Act, when passed, will include sanctions on all human rights violators globally, and it also remains unclear what criteria is used to place an individual’s name on the State Department’s visa ban list. Various types of human rights violations are already listed in the Magnitsky Act.
The following fact sheet lists all individuals affected by the lack of rule of law in Russia who are specifically named in the bill—painting a horrifying picture of unsolved murders and beatings, torture and politically motivated imprisonment in Vladimir Putin’s country.
Unsolved Murders