Posts Tagged ‘RIA Novosti’
Magnitsky List Extension Plea Gains Steam
An online petition to make Russian lawmakers, who voted in favor of the US adoptions ban, accountable under the Magnitsky Act, has gained the required number of signatures to be considered by the US administration, the US White House announced on Sunday.
The petition was posted on the White House website on December 21 and has gained the required 25,000 signatures within just two days. By Sunday afternoon, 26,750 people have signed it.
The petition says lawmakers of the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, who approved the ban in the third and final reading on Friday, have “breached all imaginable boundaries of humanity, responsibility, or common sense and chose to jeopardize lives and well-being of thousands of Russian orphans.”
A total of 420 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, written as a retaliatory response to the US Magnitsky Act, which imposes sanctions on Russian officials accused of human rights violations. The Russian bill is nearly identical. It imposes sanctions on Americans accused of human rights violations, but it also imposes a ban on Americans adopting Russian children.
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Obama Signs Magnitsky Act Into Law
US President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law the Magnitsky Act, a bill punishing Russian officials for alleged human rights violations that US lawmakers attached to a landmark trade bill normalizing trade relations with Moscow.
The aspects of the law targeting Russian officials, which simultaneously repeals the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik law, has angered the Kremlin, which says it is an attempt by the United States to interfere in Russia’s internal affairs.
The law calls on the White House to draw up a list of Russian officials deemed by Washington to be complicit in rights abuses. These officials will then be banned from obtaining US visas and have their US assets frozen.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued an angry statement Friday in response to the new US law, calling the linking of the human rights legislation to the trade bill “cynical.”
The statement also made reference to the Obama administration’s original reluctance to attach the Magnitsky Act to the trade legislation, an effort that had overwhelming bipartisan support in the US Congress.
“We regret that a US administration declaring its commitment to the development of stable and constructive bilateral relations was unable to defend its stated position against those who look to the past and see our country not as a partner, but rather an opponent—fully in line with the canons of the Cold War,” the ministry said in the statement.
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US Senate Passes Magnitsky Act & Russian Trade Bill
The US Senate on Thursday passed the Magnitsky Act, which targets Russian officials deemed by Washington to have violated human rights, along with a landmark trade bill with Russia.
The Senate voted 92 to 4 to approve the legislation, which would simultaneously repeal the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanick restrictions on trade with Russia, establish normalized bilateral trade relations with Moscow, and introduce visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials considered by the White House to be guilty of human rights violations.
The decision to link the rights legislation to the trade bill has angered Russia, which has promised retaliatory measures aimed at the United States.
There was little suspense to the fate of the bill in the Senate. It was widely expected to pass, and it will now go to US President Barack Obama to be signed into law.
In the lead-up to Thursday’s vote, however, there was a question about whether provisions targeting Russian officials would be extended to every country in the world. The US House of Representatives’ version of the bill focused exclusively on Russia, while the Senate version called for purportedly corrupt officials in other countries to be punished as well.
The Senate ultimately agreed to the language in the House bill and focus just on Russia.
“This bill may only apply to Russia, but it sets a standard that should be applied globally,” Sen. Benjamin Cardin, the author of the Magnitsky Act, said in a statement ahead of the vote. “I encourage other nations to follow our lead.”
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Magnitsky Bill in US Senate Targets Only Russia
The US Senate on Wednesday is set to consider a version of the “Magnitsky Act” that targets only Russian officials deemed by Washington to be complicit in human rights abuses.
The earlier version of the proposed Senate bill extended the US visa bans and asset freezes mandated in the legislation to other countries as well.
“This bill may only apply to Russia, but it sets a standard that should be applied globally,” Sen. Benjamin Cardin, the author of the “Magnitsky Act,” said in a statement Tuesday evening. “I encourage other nations to follow our lead.”
The bill before the Senate on Wednesday would simultaneously repeal the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik restrictions on trade with Russia, establish normalized bilateral trade relations with Moscow, and introduce visa bans and asset freezes targeting Russian officials considered by the White House to be involved in the death of Russian whistleblower lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, as well as other purported violators of human rights in Russia.
The language of the bill mirrors that of a version passed by the US House of Representatives last month. It is widely expected to pass in the Senate and be signed into law by US President Barack Obama.
The decision to link the rights legislation to the trade bill has angered Russia, which has promised retaliatory measures aimed at the United States. быстрые займы на карту займы на карту https://zp-pdl.com/how-to-get-fast-payday-loan-online.php https://zp-pdl.com/online-payday-loans-in-america.php займ онлайн на карту без отказа
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US Senate Puts Magnitsky Act on Wednesday Agenda
The US Senate will consider on Wednesday a bill which links normalized trade relations with Russia to the so-called “Magnitsky Act,” introducing sanctions for Russian officials deemed to have violated human rights, according to the Senate’s official schedule.
According to the December 5 schedule, the Senate will gather to debate the bill at 23:00 Moscow time [19:00 GMT]. The session is due to end on Wednesday evening [early on Thursday in Moscow].
The legislation simultaneously repeals the Jackson-Vanik restrictions on trade with Russia dating back to 1974 and introduces the Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act imposing visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials allegedly involved in the torture and death of a 37-year-old Russian anti-corruption lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, as well as in other gross human rights abuses in Russia.
The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on November 16 and is expected to be approved by the Senate. It will then be sent to President Barack Obama for signing.
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‘Magnitsky Death Doctor’ Denies Negligence Charges
A former Russian prison doctor charged with negligence in connection with the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 pleaded not guilty on Thursday.
“The accusations against me are unfounded,” Dmitry Kratov, the former deputy director of Moscow’s Butyrka pre-trial detention facility, told a court hearing.
But he acknowledged that “the conditions in which I worked prevented me from fully carrying out my duties.”
Magnitsky, who accused officials of a $230 million tax fraud, spent a year in Butyrka before his death. He died after “deliberate and inhumane neglect,” the Kremlin’s human rights body said in a report last year.
The high-profile death provoked an international outcry. The United States and Netherlands imposed travel bans on some 60 Russian officials over the Magnitsky case last year. Russia has responded in kind.
The U.S. Senate is currently mulling a bill named for Magnitsky that would penalize Russian officials for human rights abuses.
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US Senate Committee Ties Jackson-Vanik to Magnitsky Bill
The United States Congress finance committee has linked a draft bill on repealing the Jackson-Vanik Amendment and a change in Russia’s status to a free trade nation to the draft “Magnitsky bill,” the committee said on Wednesday.
A Senate vote on the joint law will take place in the next few hours.
“Committee Chairman Baucus released a modified mark of his bill to establish permanent normal trade relations with Russia and remove Russia from the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment,” a source in Washington told RIA Novosti. “The mark includes the Magnitsky Act, as passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.”
The text of the joint bill also has “small alterations,” on electronic trade, the source added.
The introduction of the combined bill to the committee is a technicality, as Baucus presented his draft bill to the Senate on July 12, and on July 14 a source in the committee administration confirmed to RIA Novosti that it would be this joint bill which would be put to the vote on Wednesday.
Several senators have already expressed strong support for the bill.
The new bill is a response to the demands of a majority of lawmakers for a review of legislation affecting trade and human rights issues, including some laws affecting trade with Russia.
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Magnitsky Case ‘Not to Affect’ Russia-EU Visa Talks – Diplomat
Controversy around the high-profile death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 will not affect talks between Russia and the European Union on scrapping visa restrictions, a senior official said on Monday.
“The talks are going ahead according to schedule,” Russia’s envoy to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, told RIA Novosti.
Chizhov called against “politicizing this situation” and said there would be a meeting of “high-ranking officials” at an unspecified date which would “clear up all the remaining questions.”
The Netherlands imposed travel bans on some 60 Russian officials over the Magnitsky case in July 2011, and a number of EU parliaments have vowed to follow suit.
Magnitsky, who worked for a British investment fund, was detained in November 2008 after accusing officials of a $230 million tax fraud. He died a year later in his cell after deliberate neglect and beatings, the Kremlin’s human rights body said in a report in 2011.
Last month, a U.S. Senate panel unanimously passed the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act,” a bill that would penalize Russian officials linked with Magnitsky’s jailing and death, as well as other human rights abusers in Russia.
Russia has called the bill an attempt to interfere in its domestic affairs and threatened to respond.
In January, a senior EU official said an agreement to ease visa procedures for short-term stays may be signed within the next six months. hairy girl займ на карту https://zp-pdl.com/online-payday-loans-cash-advances.php https://zp-pdl.com/apply-for-payday-loan-online.php займ на карту
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Moscow Says U.S. Visa Deal, Magnitsky List Separate Issues
Moscow’s ratifying an agreement to ease visa regulations with the United States has nothing to do with the so-called Magnitsky list, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday.
Russia has constantly voiced its concerns over a U.S. bill aimed at freezing assets and barring entry to Russian officials implicated in the death of anti-corruption campaigner and whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky. Moscow also threatened with retaliatory measures in case the bill is approved.
“Russia’s possible reaction to the adoption of the Magnitsky bill must be formed in other dimensions,” Ryabkov said adding that the bilateral visa agreement was ratified on Friday by the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma.
Earlier in the year, Kommersant business daily reported that the Russian parliament is delaying the process of the ratification intentionally to use the visa issue as leverage in dealing with other problems in bilateral relations.
Ryabkov said that the agreement meets Russian interests and Moscow views it “as the first step to the long-term goal, which is the transition to visa-free travel between the two countries.”
Moscow and Washington signed the agreement to ease visa requirements between the two countries in November 2011. Under the new rules, businessmen and tourists will get 3-year multi-entry visas, while government officials of both states will be able to receive one-year multi-entry visas.
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