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U.S. Sanctions 52 People In Abuses Related To Magnitsky Act

RFE/RL December 21, 2017

WASHINGTON -- The United States has sanctioned 52 more international figures as human rights abusers connected to the Global Magnitsky Act, targeting individuals from Uzbekistan, Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

Included on the list of sanctioned persons announced on December 21 are Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of the late longtime Uzbek President Islam Karimov; and Artyom Chaika, the son of Russian Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika.

The announcement comes one day after after the U.S. Treasury Department hit five Russian individuals under the Magnitsky act, including Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Chechnya region, accusing him of torture and "extra-judicial killings.

The Magnitsky Act, a 2012 law that aims to punish Russians alleged to be involved in human rights violations, has angered Moscow, which called sanctions against Kadyrov "illegal" and "unfriendly." The U.S. Congress later passed the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, broadening its effects worldwide.

After the latest announcement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that "this all really looks grotesque now, since it's not based on any kind of reality."

She said the steps would be "followed by response measures," without being specific, but she added that nearly 200 Russian nationals and more than 400 legal entities had been affected by U.S. sanctions.

In 2013, the Kremlin retaliated against the Magnitsky Act with a ban on American parents adopting Russian children.

'Malign Activities'

In the December 21 announcement, the Treasury said new sanctions against 39 individuals built on the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act passed last year by the U.S. Congress.

In addition, it said, "President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order today declaring a national emergency with respect to serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world and providing for the imposition of sanctions on actors engaged in these malign activities."

As part of an order annex, it said, sanctions were imposed on an additional 13 individuals classified as "serious human rights abusers."

In sanctioning Gulnara Karimova, it said she headed a "powerful organized crime syndicate that leveraged state actors to expropriate businesses, monopolize markets, solicit bribes, and administer extortion rackets."

It noted that in July 2017, the Uzbek Prosecutor-General's Office charged Karimova with "directly abetting the criminal activities of an organized crime group whose assets were worth over $1.3 billion."

The Treasury said Chaika, the son of the Russian Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika, had "leveraged his father's position and ability to award his subordinates to unfairly win state-owned assets and contracts and put pressure on business competitors."

The Treasury also sanctioned Mukhtar Hamid Shah of Pakistan, believed by Pakistani police believe to be involved in kidnapping, wrongful confinement, and the removal of and trafficking in human organs.

Burmese military officer Maung Maung Soe was sanctioned for matters related to a "brutal" crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim minority in the country's Rakhine State.

The Treasury said that as the former chief of the Burmese Army's Western Command, he oversaw the military operation in Rakhine that was "responsible for widespread human rights abuse against Rohingya civilians."

The Burmese military denies that it targeted Rohingya civilians in Rakhine, saying that its actions were in response to attacks by militants in the region.

Also included was Sergei Kusyuk, identified as a commander of an elite Ukrainian police unit, the Berkut. It said Kusyuk had been named by the Ukrainian General Prosecutor's Office as taking part in the February 2014 killings of activists on Kyiv's Maidan Nezalezhnosti, or Independence Square.

Kusyuk fled Ukraine and is now in hiding in Moscow where, the Treasury said, he was identified dispersing protesters as part of a Russian riot police unit in June 2017.

The Maidan protests led to the fall of pro-Moscow leader Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia in the face of mounting protests, leading to the emergence of the current pro-Western government.

'Strong Stand'

As a result of the sanctions, all of assets that are within U.S. jurisdiction will be blocked, and U.S. individuals are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with those on the list.

"Today, the United States is taking a strong stand against human rights abuse and corruption globally by shutting these bad actors out of the U.S. financial system," the Treasury said.

in a statement later, the U.S. State Department said, "Today's actions advance our values and promote the security of the United States, our allies, and our partners.

"We must lead by example, and today's announcement of sanctions demonstrates the United States will continue to pursue tangible and significant consequences for those who commit serious human rights abuse and engage in corruption."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/magnitsky-52-sanctioned -karimova-chaika/28931607.html

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U.S. Sanctions 52 People In Abuses Related To Magnitsky Act