Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

House panel backs “Magnitsky” sanctions on Russia

Reuters

A congressional committee unanimously approved on Thursday a measure to penalize Russian officials for human rights abuses, adding to tensions with Moscow and complicating White House efforts to pass Russian trade legislation in the coming months.

The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved on a voice vote the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act,” named for a 37-year-old anti-corruption lawyer who worked for the equity fund Hermitage Capital. His 2009 death after a year in Russian jails spooked investors and blackened Russia’s image abroad.

The measure has bipartisan support among lawmakers but its prospects for passage in Congress remain uncertain.

The measure would require the United States to deny visas and freeze the assets of Russians linked to Magnitsky’s death. The Obama administration already has imposed visa restrictions on some Russians believed to have been involved in Magnitsky’s death, but kept their names quiet.

The bill would make public the list of alleged offenders, broaden it to include other abusers of human rights in Russia and prohibit them from doing their banking in U.S. institutions.

Russian officials have warned that the bill would harm American-Russian relations, and U.S. business groups say it could hurt their interests in Russia.

The White House worries the bill will get embroiled in President Barack Obama’s efforts to reap the trade benefits of Russia’s looming entry into the World Trade Organization, a key achievement of the “reset” in U.S.-Russia ties of recent years.

Approval by the panel was just the first step in advancing the Magnitsky bill by Democratic Representative Jim McGovern through the Republican-controlled House. Before it can get a vote of the full House, two more committees must approve it or waive jurisdiction. The Democratic-controlled Senate has not acted on a similar bill by Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat.