Posts Tagged ‘senate’
Russia’s WTO accession sparks debate over human-rights legislation
Russia’s expected invitation to join the World Trade Organization next month has ignited debate in Congress on a bill that targets Russian human-rights abuse and a trade law that could hurt U.S. businesses.
The debate over punishing Russian human-rights abusers and voiding a Cold War-era trade law poses a test for the Obama administration’s “reset” in relations with the former Soviet republic.
As a WTO member, Russia would enjoy regulated access to U.S. markets, even as Moscow has backslid on democratic reforms by cracking down on dissenters, limiting opposition and restricting the press.
Russia has threatened to end cooperation with the U.S. on Iran sanctions and Afghan transit if the U.S. implements the proposed Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act.
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Honoring the Memory of Sergei Magnitsky
Today, we mourn the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year-old Russian lawyer who died a terrible death two years ago in pretrial detention after exposing a multimillion-dollar fraud against Russian taxpayers. Jailed on fabricated charges after alleging that officers of Russia’s Interior Ministry took part in a $230 million tax fraud against his client, Hermitage Capital Management, Magnitsky was essentially murdered in jail after being denied medical treatment despite repeated pleas for help.
His death, caused by the gross negligence of his jailers and those in the Ministry of Interior responsible for putting him in jail in the first place, was no mistake, and should serve as a call to action: Russian officials must take real steps to change the system that enables human rights abuses and hold accountable those who commit them.
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Cold war-style blacklists? Wide ripples from Russian lawyer’s death in prison.
Two Russian generals have reportedly called off a US visit after senators asked for a review of their visa requests. A proposed Senate bill would restrict visas for 60 Russians allegedly linked to the case of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
Sergei Magnitsky was just one statistic among more than 4,000 people who die each year after being consigned to Russia’s overcrowded and brutality-plagued prison system.
But the story of the dedicated corporate lawyer who died under suspicious circumstances in pretrial custody two years ago, after being arrested by the very police officers he had testified against in a major corruption case, has shocked the world and led to a wave of repercussions that could undo the tenuous “reset” that has thawed US-Russian relations since President Obama took office.
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US Helsinki Commission to hold Briefing on Human Rights Play on Magnitsky Murder
Human Rights Play on Magnitsky Murder
Where: 121 Cannon House Office Building
When: Wednesday, Nov. 16th at 6:00 pm
After exposing the largest tax fraud in Russian history, Magnitsky was wrongly arrested and tortured in prison. Six months later he became seriously ill and was consistently denied medical attention despite 20 formal requests. On the night of November 16, 2009, he went into critical condition, but instead of being treated in a hospital he was put in an isolation cell, chained to a bed, and beaten by eight prison guards for one hour and eighteen minutes. Sergei Magnitsky was 37 years old and left behind a wife and two children. Those responsible for this crime have yet to be punished and his story has become a global human rights cause and is emblematic of corruption, violence, and impunity in Russia.
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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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Taking on Russia: A global financier fights back after a lawyer’s suspicious death in prison
IF YOU think you know what the 1 percent is like, then you haven’t met Bill Browder, the founder of Hermitage Capital Management, a multi-billion dollar investment firm. His personal worth is estimated to be around $100 million. His grandfather was the head of the American Communist party, and when Russian markets opened, Browder seemed to return the favor by exporting capitalism there. Hermitage became the largest investment fund in Russia.
But his career took an unexpected turn. He’s now on a different kind of mission – to pass legislation that would deprive human-rights violators of the things they love: legitimacy, travel, Western goods, and taking their kids to Disneyland. It’s a mission that should please the US government, too.
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Kasparov: “How I ‘Called’ for War on Russia”
Several days ago I spoke at a conference in Washington on the subject of the reset in relations between Russia and the US organized by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which traditionally represents the interests of the Republican Party. The fact that the main presenter was Speaker of the House of Representatives and Republican John Boehner shows how seriously the Republican Party is going to look at this issue during the upcoming electoral cycle. And there is nothing shocking about this. Every other foreign policy issue, whether it’s Afghanistan, Iran, or Iraq, is linked in one way or another with the actions of the Bush administration, while the idea for the reset in relations with Russia and the bets that were hedged on Medvedev – or, more specifically, on a split within the tandem – was thought up and materialized by the Obama administration. Putin’s imminent return to the post of president makes obvious the failure of Obama’s attempt to support “liberal modernizers” in the Kremlin, which the Republicans will undoubtedly remind him of before the next election.
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Two Russias React to US Visa Sanctions Bill
Western proponents of realpolitik and the Kremlin’s “fellow travelers” routinely caution world leaders against criticizing Moscow over its dismal human rights and democracy record, as such criticism, in their view, would only “irritate Russia” and sour relations. This argument is true—if one takes “Russia” to mean Vladimir Putin’s unelected clique of corrupt bureaucrats, former security operatives, and billionaire friends. For those who do not equate a great nation with a rogue regime and pay attention to the genuine voices of Russian society, such a view is a travesty. With regard to human rights, nowhere is the discrepancy between the two Russias more evident than in the attitudes toward S.1039, the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2011, a US Senate bill that would impose visa sanctions and asset freezes on Russian officials responsible for violating human rights, including “the freedoms of religion, expression, association, and assembly and the rights to a fair trial and democratic elections.”
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U.S. businesses should push for reform in Russia
With the NBA lockout continuing indefinitely, at least Chicago Bulls’ owner Jerry Reinsdorf has the White Sox to keep him busy.
New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov? He had a second job too: running for prime minister of Russia.
That is until last month. The nominal head of a pro-business party there, Prokhorov abruptly resigned his position, claiming the current regime — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his cronies — had orchestrated a “hostile takeover” of his party. Putin, notorious for crushing any threats, perceived or real, to his absolute hold on power over the last decade, announced a few days later he would return to Russia’s top post (as if he left) next year.
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