Posts Tagged ‘ileana ros lehtinen’
In Putin’s Russia, Corrupt Officials Responsible for Gross Human Rights Abuses Get Plaudits, Not Punishment, Says Ros-Lehtinen
Congressman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, made the following statement after the Russian government congratulated officials responsible for lawyer Sergei Magnitsky’s unjust arrest, detention and death in custody.
Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
“The Russian government’s act of congratulating officials responsible for the unjust arrest and subsequent death of Sergei Magnitsky shows the true face and extent of corruption among Russian government officials, even to the highest levels. Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer who was murdered during his investigation of corruption and embezzlement which implicated dozens of state officials and his sad case is a troubling reminder of the true nature of Putin’s legacy. The fact that these officials are being congratulated further illustrates the Russian government’s contempt for human rights and the rule of law.
“The U.S. must continue to support democratic progress and seek justice for those who have suffered so ruthlessly because they dared to challenge the systemic abuse and corruption within the ruling system in Russia. Congress must continue to pass laws similar to last year’s ‘Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law and Accountability Act,’ which imposed sanctions on those responsible for the harassment, abuse and death of Sergei Magnitsky and the many others who have been silenced by the state apparatchik.”
NOTE: Two weeks ago in Washington, DC, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was honored to meet with Magnitsky’s wife, son, and mother who pleaded with Ros-Lehtinen to lobby the Obama administration to include many more Russian violators of human rights, as mandated by U.S. law, and Ileana agreed to do so. срочный займ микрозайм онлайн female wrestling https://zp-pdl.com/emergency-payday-loans.php https://zp-pdl.com/get-quick-online-payday-loan-now.php займы онлайн на карту срочно
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US: New Bill Sanctions Magnitsky Officials
The United States House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill on Thursday to impose sanctions on a group of Russian officials connected to the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian anti-graft lawyer who died in a Russian prison.
Magnitsky was arrested in November 2008 on charges of tax evasion, days after he accused Russian state tax authorities of participating in a $230 million tax refund fraud. He died a year later in a Moscow pre-trial detention center.
According to the US Committee of Foreign Affairs, the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 will impose “sanctions [visa ban and asset freeze] on those responsible for the harassment, abuse, and death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who was murdered during his investigation of corruption in the Russian government.”
The bill was introduced in April, by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission co-chairman Jim McGovern.
The opponents of the bill expressed fears that the new legislation would have a negative effect on the US-Russia relations, and could harm US exports to Russia. The U.S. National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) urged the Congress on Wednesday to oppose the bill.
According to the NFTC President Bill Reinsch “The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act is seriously flawed.” He adds that “This legislation would harm U.S. relations with Russia and many other nations, and would jeopardize the significant benefits arising from Russian concessions during its WTO accession negotiations.”
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Magnitsky bill moves forward in the House
The House Foreign Affairs Committee marked up a bill today to punish Russian human rights violators, moving that bill closer to passage in conjunction with another bill to grant Russia privileged trade with the United States.
Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) convened her committee on Thursday morning to approve the House version of the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, legislation meant to promote human rights in Russia that is named for the anti-corruption lawyer who died in a Russian prison, after allegedly being tortured, two years ago. She and her committee counterpart Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) said during the markup they both support joining the Magnitsky bill with a coming bill to grant Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status, which would include a repeal of the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment, established to punish Russia for not allowing Jews to emigrate during the Soviet period.
“The entire world knows that the state of democracy and human rights in Russia, already bad, is getting worse,” Ros-Lehtinen said at the markup. “Moscow devotes enormous resources and attention to persecuting political opponents and human rights activists, including forcibly breaking up rallies and jailing and beating those who dare to defy it. Instead of the rule of law, Russia is ruled by the lawless.”
The Obama administration is publicly opposed to the Magnitsky bill, especially the effort to connect it to Jackson-Vanik repeal, and has been working behind the scenes with bill sponsors such as Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) to alter the legislation. “From our point of view this legislation is redundant to what we’re already doing,” U.S. Ambassador Russia Mike McFaul said in March.
One of the administration ideas is to expand the Magnitsky bill to deal with human rights violators from all countries, but doing so wouldn’t eliminate strong Russian objections to the bill. A short amendment added to the House version today by Ros-Lehtinen makes clear that the bill is directed only at Russia.Cardin even came up with a new draft version of the legislation in April. The Cable obtained an internal document showing exactly what changed in the bill. For example, the new version makes it more difficult to add names to the list of human rights violators that the bill would create, potentially softening the bill’s impact on Russian officials.
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