WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the author of the Sergei Magnitsky and Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Acts, released the following statement Thursday, the eighth anniversary of Mr. Magnitsky’s death:
“Like any good lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky went to Russian authorities when he uncovered corruption in the course of his work. For his commitment to his profession and for his bravery, he was summarily arrested, jailed, tortured and killed by Russian authorities. The world now knows Sergei’s name—which is not just synonymous with the Russian government’s brutal repression of its own citizens, but also with the notion that impunity for such repression can never be tolerated.
“In his name I authored the Magnitsky Act and the Global Magnitsky Act, to enable the United States to place targeted sanctions on government officials who commit human rights violations or significant corruption. The Global Magnitsky Act is being replicated in other places and both laws are at the top of the Kremlin’s wish list to do away with -- clear signs of their importance and effectiveness. To date, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Estonia have passed their own versions of a Global Magnitsky law, and similar legislation is under consideration in Lithuania and the European Parliament.
“A revisionist and resurgent Russia means that Mr. Magnitsky’s legacy and namesake laws are more important than ever in the ongoing global effort to pursue accountability and uphold universal human rights.”
Background:
The first sanctions designations under the Global Magnitsky Act, as well as the next set of designations under the Sergei Magnitsky Act, are both due from the Trump Administration in December.
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