Posts Tagged ‘YouGov’
Press Release: The case for a British Magnitsky Act
Campaigners urging the British Government to adopt stringent sanctions against Russian officials suspected of torture and corruption have renewed their call for action, as a new poll reveals overwhelming public support for the measure.
Despite two European Parliament resolutions calling for member states to impose visa sanctions and asset freezes on Russian officials involved in the arrest, torture and death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, as yet the Government has failed to follow the lead of the US in passing the Magnitsky Act, which places travel and financial sanctions on those suspected of crime and human rights abuses in Russia and names those involved in a public US Government listing.
Parliamentarians and campaigners have said the failure to bring about a British law similar to the Magnitsky Act undermines David Cameron’s call at the G8 Summit for a crackdown on tax transparency and has enabled corrupt officials to do business freely and with impunity in the UK.
A new YouGov poll commissioned by the Henry Jackson Society think tank has revealed the vast majority of the British public would support legislation to refuse visas and freeze the assets of Russian officials who are believed to be involved in corruption, torture and human rights.
Key results of the survey of 1,860 people include:
·Overall, almost three quarters of those polled (72 per cent) said they would support a British Magnitsky Act, compared with just six per cent who would oppose such a measure. This rises to 78 per cent of Conservative voters.
·72 per cent of people believe corruption in Russia is widespread, with four per cent believing it is not widespread.
·Just 14 per cent of those polled believe the British Government is doing as much as could be reasonably expected to stop money from Russian crime and corruption entering the UK. 46 per cent of Conservative voters and 49 per cent of Labour voters believe the Government should be doing more.
Executive Director of the Henry Jackson Society Dr Alan Mendoza said: “We in the West have a responsibility to halt the spread of human rights crimes and corruption in the Russian political system.
“The inaction of the British Government in bringing about a law which would rightly place sanctions on those suspected of serious human rights abuses makes a mockery of our ability to pose as champions of freedom and liberty.”
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UK poll shows ‘huge’ public support for Magnitsky sanctions against Russian officials
A new poll reveals overwhelming public support in the UK for sanctions against Russian officials suspected of torture and corruption.
Campaigners have pressed the British government to follow the US precedent by passing a version of the Magnitsky Act, which imposes travel and financial sanctions on officials suspected of human rights violations in Russia and publicly names those culpable in a government listing.
A new YouGov poll commissioned by the Henry Jackson Society think tank shows that the vast majority of the British public would support legislation to refuse visas and freeze the assets of Russian officials believed to be involved in corruption, torture and human rights violations.
Key results of the survey of 1,860 people include:
· Overall, almost three quarters of those polled (72 per cent) said they would support a British Magnitsky Act, compared with just six per cent who would oppose such a measure. This rises to 78 per cent of Conservative voters.
· 72 per cent of people believe corruption in Russia is widespread, with four per cent believing it is not widespread.
· Just 14 per cent of those polled believe the British Government is doing as much as could be reasonably expected to stop money from Russian crime and corruption entering the UK. 46 per cent of Conservative voters and 49 per cent of Labour voters believe the Government should be doing more.
“The UK poll shows that British government should do much more than they have already done to ban corrupt Russian officials and human rights abusers,” said William Browder, Founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and former client of Sergei Magnitsky (above).
The Sergei Magnitsky Act was named for the tax lawyer arrested in 2008 after revealing that Russian officials had orchestrated a tax refund fraud to transfer $230m of state funds to a criminal syndicate. He died in jail after being assaulted and denied medical treatment.
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Russian suspects in Sergei Magnitsky death barred from entry to UK
Tory MP calls for legislation against Russians accused of involvement in tax fraud whistleblower’s death in prison.
Sixty Russians accused of involvement in the torture and death of the tax fraud whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky have been banned from entering the UK.
Magnitsky died in a Russian prison in 2009, a year after being arrested following his conclusion of a corruption investigation that pointed the finger at a host of low-level Russian officials. A report by the Kremlin’s human rights commission found signs that the 37-year-old lawyer had been beaten.
The US passed a bill last year blocking people related to the Magnitsky case from entering the country and blocking their assets, and the European parliament has called for member states to follow suit. It has now emerged that the government has banned people identified on a US list from entering the UK.
The ban was revealed in a previously unreported response to a written question from the Conservative MP Dominic Raab, who asked whether “any of the 60 individuals named on the list published by the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe … have visited the UK in the last year”.
The immigration minister Mark Harper replied in April: “The Home Office special cases directorate is already aware of the individuals on the list and has taken the necessary measures to prevent them being issued visas for travel to the UK.”
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To learn more about what happened to Sergei Magnitsky please read below
- Sergei Magnitsky
- Why was Sergei Magnitsky arrested?
- Sergei Magnitsky’s torture and death in prison
- President’s investigation sabotaged and going nowhere
- The corrupt officers attempt to arrest 8 lawyers
- Past crimes committed by the same corrupt officers
- Petitions requesting a real investigation into Magnitsky's death
- Worldwide reaction, calls to punish those responsible for corruption and murder
- Complaints against Lt.Col. Kuznetsov
- Complaints against Major Karpov
- Cover up
- Press about Magnitsky
- Bloggers about Magnitsky
- Corrupt officers:
- Sign petition
- Citizen investigator
- Join Justice for Magnitsky group on Facebook
- Contact us
- Sergei Magnitsky