Posts Tagged ‘radio free europe’
U.S. Senate Mulls Jackson-Vanik Repeal
The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance has held a hearing to consider the permanent normalization of trade with Russia, a move that the Obama administration and business leaders are pushing for but which raises the sensitive issue of Moscow’s human rights record.
Committee Chairman Senator Max Baucus (Democrat-Montana) urged his fellow lawmakers on March 15 to repeal the Jackson-Vanik Amendment — Cold War-era legislation that denies Russia permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) — for the sake of the still-fragile U.S. economy.
Doing so, he claimed, could result in a twofold increase in the volume of U.S. exports to Russia, which are currently worth around $9 billion annually.
“If the United States passes PNTR with Russia, U.S. exports to Russia are projected to double within five years,” he said. “If Congress doesn’t pass PNTR, Russia will join the WTO anyway, and U.S. exporters will lose out to their Chinese and European competitors.”
With support from the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, Russia completed its 18-year quest for membership in the World Trade Organization last year. The Duma is set to ratify membership in the coming months.
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Moscow Court Rules That Probe Of Dead Lawyer Magnitsky Is Legal
Moscow City Court has ruled that investigations of deceased attorney Sergei Magnitsky are proper and legal and can continue.
The court on February 27 rejected an appeal by Magnitsky’s relatives to halt government investigations of the deceased attorney for the British-based Hermitage Capital Management.
Magnitsky, 37, was jailed after accusing Interior Ministry officials of involvement in a massive corruption scandal.
He later died in pre-trial detention in 2009 after suffering abuse and medical neglect.
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U.S. Officials Push Jackson-Vanik Repeal, Tiptoe Around Magnitsky Legislation
U.S. State Department officials have urged Congress to repeal the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik Amendment, trade legislation that has long been used to pressure Russia on human rights issues, arguing that the law is hurting the U.S. economy and that Washington can make its views known in other ways.
In doing so, the officials tiptoed around a proposal that has gained favor in the Senate to punish Russian officials directly for rights abuses and as such, serve as a trade for Congressional repeal of Jackson-Vanik.
The bill, however, which would target officials connected to the death of Russian anticorruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, has been met with hesitation by the administration, as it threatens to damage relations between Washington and Moscow if it becomes law.
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A Lone Voice Tries To Reform Russia’s Prisons From Within
Senior Lieutenant Aleksei Kozlov has a difficult, thankless job. He is in charge of educational work among prisoners at Moscow’s notorious Butyrka remand prison (SIZO).
He informs prisoners of their rights and responsibilities and fields their complaints. He writes reports that are requested by lawyers, prosecutors, and lawmakers about conditions in the prison.
For nearly two years now, Kozlov has filed his reports and urged reform from within a system that seems stonily impervious to change. “I haven’t met with understanding on the part of [Butyrka’s] administration,” he says. “The violations are perfectly evident to anyone, but no one is doing anything about them.”
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U.S Senators Urge Clinton To Reconsider Visit Of Russian Officials Connected To Magnitsky Case
Two U.S. senators have urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to reconsider allowing the visit of two Russian officials allegedly involved in the prosecution and prison death of anticorruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
In letter dated November 8 that was obtained by RFE/RL, Senators Benjamin Cardin (Democrat-Maryland) and Roger Wicker (Republican-Mississippi) urged Clinton to “immediately review any visa applications” submitted by Russian Interior Ministry Generals Tatiana Gerasimova and Nikolai Shelepanov.
The officials are due to arrive in Washington early next week to discuss Moscow’s record of enforcing intellectual property rights, which U.S. trade officials have described as a major stumbling block to deeper economic cooperation.
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Spate Of Suspect Deaths Casts Spotlight On Moscow’s Remand Prisons
Andrei Kudoyarov, director of Moscow school No. 1308 who was accused of accepting 240,000 rubles in bribes, died of a massive heart attack in a Moscow pretrial detention jail (SIZO) on October 8. His relatives and lawyers heard the news from media reports. Official confirmation came only on October 10.
The Kudoyarov case has once again cast a harsh light on Moscow pretrial detention centers, known as SIZO’s or “investigative isolation wards” in Russian, where, according to the Moscow Helsinki Group, some 50-60 people die in custody each year.
Suspects often spend months or even years in brutal conditions among sick and violent prisoners while awaiting their day in court.
Moscow human rights advocate Aleksandr Brod believes the Kudoyarov case points to a massive problem in the Russian legal system.
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Russia Bans Entry To U.S. Officials In Retaliation
Russia has banned entry to dozens of U.S. officials allegedly involved in human rights violations in response to Washington’s blacklisting of Russian officials involved in the prison death of Sergei Magnitsky.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was blacklisting unspecified U.S. officials it claims were involved in the abductions of alleged terrorism suspects, the torture of inmates at Guantanamo prison, the killings of civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq, and abductions or abuse of Russians in the United States.
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European Human Rights Commissioner Criticizes Russia’s ‘Atmosphere Of Impunity’
To mark the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Danila Galperovich spoke with Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg about that case, as well as about other high-profile murder investigations and key human rights issues in Russia.
RFE/RL: We are now speaking on a very sad occasion — the fifth anniversary of the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. What must the Russian authorities do so that Europe will say that Russia is trying to identify and prosecute those who are responsible?
Thomas Hammarberg: The most important thing is to clarify the case totally so that those who are responsible are brought to justice and punished. And that would include everyone who was involved — not only the killer himself, but also those who guided the killer, those who financed the killing, those who ordered the killing. Everyone involved, not least those who have the political or moral responsibility behind the decision that she should be killed.
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Magnitsky’s Mother Files Criminal Complaint Against Russian Officials
The mother of Sergei Magnitsky has filed a criminal complaint against Russian Prosecutor-General Yuri Chaika, senior officials of the Russian Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service, the Penitentiary Service, and 11 judges, accusing them of being involved in a conspiracy to murder her son.
Magnitsky, an attorney who was jailed after accusing Interior Ministry officials of involvement in a massive corruption scandal, died in pre-trial detention in 2009 after suffering abuse and medical neglect.
He was acting as outside counsel for the investment firm Hermitage Capital Management.
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