• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

United States Publishes 'Magnitsky List'

April 12, 2013
by RFE/RL

WASHINGTON -- The United States has imposed visa bans and asset freezes on 18 people, many of them Russian, who are named on what is known as the Magnitsky List.

The move is expected to further strain relations with Moscow, which has threatened to retaliate with its own sanctions.

Sixteen are cited in the list -- released on April 12 by the Treasury Department -- for their role in the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a Moscow lawyer who implicated a range of Russian officials in a $230 million tax fraud scheme.

After making his accusations, Magnitsky was himself charged with tax evasion in 2008. He was beaten and denied medical treatment while held in pretrial detention and died in 2009.

The list included the names of some tax and police officials involved in the case, such as Interior Ministry investigators Pavel Karpov and Oleg Silchenko. Karpov, who is retired, told the Interfax news agency that he rejected 'all accusations leveled against me.'

It also named Judge Aleksei Krivoruchko who approved the extension of Magnitsky's pretrial detention.

Two people from Chechnya are also on the list, which targets people Washington deems guilty of gross rights violations.

Letscha Bogatirov is the man who is believed to have fired the fatal shots at Chechen regime critic Umar Israilov in Austria in 2009.

Kazbek Dukuzov, a suspect in the 2004 killing of "Forbes" Russia Editor Paul Klebnikov, was acquitted in a 2006 trial.

A 'Timid' List

Before the list's release, Russia's presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would 'doubtless have a very negative effect on bilateral Russian-American relations.'

During a visit to Switzerland, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said 'If the list is published, we will react, and our American partners know that.'

The list was required by a law the U.S. Congress passed in 2012 designed to punish people implicated in Magnitsky's prosecution and death as well as others alleged to have committed gross rights violations.

One of the sponsors of the Magnitsky Act, Congressman Jim McGovern released a statement on April 12 that said 'While the list is timid and features more significant omissions than names, I was assured by administration officials today that the investigation is ongoing, and further additions will be made to the list as new evidence comes to light.'

The legislation gave President Barack Obama the option of keeping some names classified for 'vital national security' reasons.

Anticipating a furious reaction from Moscow and concerned over the act's potential impact on bilateral relations, the Obama administration opposed the legislation before it was passed by Congress.

A list of names that was submitted by members of Congress mentioned around 60 people.

Representatives from about 10 NGOs, including Freedom House and Human Rights Watch, met with State Department officials in mid-February, ahead of an internal deadline for a first draft of the list. Most submitted their recommendations.

Multiple NGOs included Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and Aleksandr Bastrykin, the head of Russia's powerful Investigative Committee, on their suggested list of names, but they did not appear on the list published on April 12.

Bastrykin led the investigation into Magnitsky's death and concluded that no crime was committed. Kadyrov is accused by human rights organizations of being behind numerous cases of torture, abductions and killings.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/united-states- publishes-magnitsky-list-russia/24956249.html

Copyright (c) 2013. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.