Human Rights
Russian officials on US blacklist: Human Rights abusers of other nations could also face visa bans
*US State Dept puts dozens of Russian officials on Visa blacklist
*US Senators introduce Rule of Law Accountability Act to freeze assets and deny visas to human rights abusers in Russia
*The Bill to apply to extreme future and past cases such as the unsolved murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya
*Advocacy groups say similar actions targeting specific Human Rights abusers could be brought against individuals from countries like Sri Lanka
*State Dept also confirms officials from other countries too would be subject to visa bans on HR concerns
In a move that could have far reaching consequences for human rights violators in other countries as well the US State Department has quietly put dozens of Russian officials connected to the 2009 wrongful death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, on a visa blacklist.
The US State Department pushed ahead with the visa ban pre-empting proposed senate legislation seeking a similar outcome but with far wider scope.
*US State Dept puts dozens of Russian officials on Visa blacklist
*US Senators introduce Rule of Law Accountability Act to freeze assets and deny visas to human rights abusers in Russia
*The Bill to apply to extreme future and past cases such as the unsolved murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya
*Advocacy groups say similar actions targeting specific Human Rights abusers could be brought against individuals from countries like Sri Lanka
*State Dept also confirms officials from other countries too would be subject to visa bans on HR concerns
In a move that could have far reaching consequences for human rights violators in other countries as well the US State Department has quietly put dozens of Russian officials connected to the 2009 wrongful death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, on a visa blacklist.
The US State Department pushed ahead with the visa ban pre-empting proposed senate legislation seeking a similar outcome but with far wider scope.
Visas will be refused
At the daily briefing on July 27 State Department spokesperson Mark Toner told media the move was taken under a specific program that looks at individuals who the US believes are guilty of human rights abuses and either refuses them visas or denies them the capacity to get a visa.
The State department confirmed that officials of other countries too would be subject to visa bans based on human rights concerns, stating there was already a broad list of individuals from several countries under this program.
Advocacy groups told Lanka Independent the current absence of accountability and rule of law in Russia,
Managing Editor Freedom of the Press Index Karin Karlekar explaining the findings at the Newseum in Washington DC on Press Freedom Day 2011
with this legislation, both American and European parliamentarians have made it clear that if Russian officials engage in major human rights abuses, they and their immediate families cannot enjoy the privilege of traveling to or living or studying in the West, or doing their banking in Western financial institutions.(See full interview below main article)
Useful symbol that impunity will not be condoned
Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Senior Researcher at Freedom House and the Managing Editor of the Freedom of the Press Index told Lanka Independent the imposition of such visa bans will give a useful signal—even if a symbolic one—that impunity will not be condoned and that the U.S. does place priority on human rights issues.
“I know that this has been done in the case of dozens of high-ranking politicians and government officials and even members of their families from Zimbabwe. In a South Asian context, it was done in the case of
Narendra Modi, Gujarat Chief Minister who was held to have had some responsibility for the Gujarat pogrom of 2002. It can have an effect by stifling their travel to the US for either personal or political reasons, and as such be one in a series of potential levers to apply pressure either to a government or to an individual.”
Sri Lanka record
Freedom House gave Sri Lanka a rating of 71 (with North Korea the worst at 97 and Finland the best at 10) in its Press Freedom Index released on Press Freedom Day on March 3, 2011 and designated the country as Not Free based on a range of indicators. The New York based Committee to Protect Journalists placed Sri Lanka 4th in its 2010 Impunity Index right behind three of the worst perpetrators Iraq, Somalia and the Phillipines and even before Russia which came in 9th. (The worse the country is rated the higher it is on the index)
Who is Lasantha
Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge’s brutal killing on January 8, 2009 was dismissed by Sri Lanka’s defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse as a triviality in the broader context of thousands who had been killed by the ruthless terrorist organisation the LTTE. Gotabaya Rajapakse told the BBC a month after the slaying that he was not bothered about it. Who is Lasantha, He is a journalist writing to a tabloid, Rajapakse said. You can watch the interview here.
Karlekar an expert on Press Freedom issues told Lanka Independent such a means of pressure could be used in cases of Sri Lanka and elsewhere. “I would imagine it would usually happen after such cases are publicized and advocacy is conducted to convince the relevant arms of the US Government(consular, state department, congress) to act accordingly, either through passing legislation effecting a visa ban on an individual or group of individuals,” she said.
“In this light, the continued attention given to cases of specific murdered journalists or human rights
Journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge was brutally attacked when he was driving to work on the morning of January 8, 2009. He died in hospital
defenders is important, as is the focus on potential prosecutions for war crimes violations in the Sri Lankan context,” Karlekar added.
Lasantha case: Emblematic of culture of impunity in Sri Lanka
The bogus investigation that followed the murder of Wickremetunge was nothing more than a government cover up and has become emblematic of the culture of impunity that now prevails in Sri Lanka.
Be that as it may, the proposed Act now before the Senate prominently quotes the Freedom House Special Report The Perpetual Battle: Corruption in the Former Soviet Union and the New EU Members where it states “Magnitsky, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky , put an international spotlight on the Russian state’s contempt for the rule of law. . . . By silencing influential and accomplished figures such as Khodorkovsky and Magnitsky, the Russian authorities have made it abundantly clear that anyone in Russia can be silenced.”
Magnitsky case – Emblematic of culture of impunity in Russia
The Senate Bill also states that the Sergei Magnitsky’s experience, while particularly illustrative of the negative effects of official corruption on the rights of an individual citizen, appears to be emblematic of a broader pattern of disregard for the numerous domestic and international human rights commitments of the Russian Federation and impunity for those who violate basic human rights and freedoms.
Journalist Anna Politkovskaya case included
It lists several unsolved murders including that of Journalists Anna Politkovskaya, stating that these murders illustrate the grave danger of exposing the wrongdoing of officials of the Government of the Russian Federation, including Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, or of seeking to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote internationally recognized human rights and freedoms.
Who was Sergei Magnitsky
Anti corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was working for an American law firm in Moscow when he accused police and tax officials of a $230 million tax fraud. Typically he was quickly arrested and himself charged with the crime.
In what has become familiar behavior by those in failing justice systems he died in prison in November
2009 after nearly a year of being denied medical care for apparent pancreatitis and with signs of being badly beaten in his final hours.
Congratulated rather than punished
Not surprisingly those connected to the case were congratulated rather than punished and given promotions and public commendations. Nearly two years after the death, in July this year, in a feeble and likely disingenuous attempt to pacify strident calls for justice from the international community, the Russian authorities announced that two low-level prison doctors would be prosecuted for neglecting Magnitsky’s care.
Medvedev describes Russia’s criminal justice system as legal nihilism
Even Russian Federation President Medvedev has been forced to acknowledge Russia’s disregard for the rule of law and has called its criminal justice system that continues to imprison innocent people – a form of legal nihilism.
State Dept ahead of Congress
The US State Department move got ahead of bipartisan legislation on the subject introduced this May by
Senators Benjamin Cardin (Democrat-Maryland) and John McCain (Republican-Arizona) mostly to preempt the legislation being passed.
Pushing back on Bill
The Obama administration which is seeking a reset with Russia while taking steps on the Human Rights front has been pushing back on the legislation on the basis it could harm relations with the Medvedev regime. The administration in its comments on the proposed Bill stated that since Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had taken steps to ban individuals associated with the wrongful death of Sergey Magnitsky from traveling to the United States, it did not see the need for additional legislation.
State Dept Message on HR loud and clear
However the message on human rights from the State Department was sharp and clear. At a briefing Mark Toner spokesperson for the Department told media it was aware that there have been some statements from Russia, but “we conducted an independent investigation on these individuals, and we believe we had credible information to move forward.”
Russians got no warning
Responding to a question whether it was correct to say the U.S. did not give any notice to the Russians that this was going to happen, Mr. Toner said it was important to see it in the broader context of the commitment of the Obama Administration to upholding human rights obligations around the world.
“And certainly in the Magnitsky case, since his death in 2009, we’ve taken this matter very seriously and spoken both publicly and privately about the case,” he said.
A woman places flowers at a portrait of slain journalist Anna Politkovskaya, on the third anniversary of her assassination during a rally in downtown Moscow in 2009
“where we have credible evidence of association or culpability, we do provide or we do issue visa restrictions on individuals around the world. In this specific case, it was the individuals that we believe are responsible for his death….” He said.
Dealing with the political question
With questions now being raised in several cases including those filed or likely to be filed under the Torture Victims Protection Act and the Alien Tort Claims Act on whether the political question would prevent a US court from proceeding further in cases brought against individuals of other countries, the present visa blacklist provides some insight into current US thinking.
Mutual interest
Regarding the consequences of relations with Russia due to the visa ban and more specifically Russia’s support for US efforts in Afghanistan, transportation over flights, and other capabilities, the Russians have allowed the US to carry out; the State department said it was appreciative of it but figured such cooperation was in the interests of Russia as well.
The state department also said the US will work productively with Russia where they could on a broad range of issues but said it would not be done at “the expense of principles that we hold dear.” And reiterated the US would continue to raise human rights cases and issues where deemed appropriate.
Congressional action
The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, is unique because though named after the anti-corruption lawyer, it targets not only his captors, but also other Russian officials “responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of human rights committed against individuals seeking—
(A) to expose illegal activity carried out by officials of the Government of the Russian Federation; or
(B) to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote internationally recognized human rights and freedoms, such as the freedoms of religion, expression, association, and assembly and the rights to a fair trial and democratic elections.
Also applies to US citizens and Greencard holders. Bans travel and freezes assets
The legislation includes action against United States citizens or US permanent residents and envisages action in extreme future and past cases, such as the unsolved murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the continuing incarceration of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian dissident. Further it not only seeks to ban travel but to also freeze assets of those involved in human rights violations and war crimes.
Ben Cardin
The main sponsor of the Senate bill, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), told media last week that he was now working to address the administration’s concerns and he was not sure when the bill would see a committee markup or floor consideration.
EU, Canada, Netherlands to follow suit
Media further reported the European Parliament, Canada and the Netherlands were also moving toward their own visa bans for a list of 60 Russians involved in the case. Despite possible threats to what the Obama administration calls the “reset” in U.S.-Russia relations and the implications for U.S. interests, supporters of the Senate proposal that has provoked the threats of retaliation by Russia say it is the right thing to do.
No respect for Human Rights
“The reset has brought about improvement in relations,” David Kramer, executive director of Freedom House and a former State Department official last week told the Washington Post. “but at the end of the day we’re still dealing with the same Russia, which shows no respect for human rights, no accountability and
no respect for rule of law.”
Advocates of the bill suggested that Russia permits the transportation of supplies through its territory to Afghanistan and supports U.S. policies because it’s in the country’s interest, not out of altruism.
Sri Lanka issue
Advocacy groups said such an outcome could be reached in other cases effecting countries like Sri Lanka as well.
Certainly both the Sergei Magnitsky and the Anna Politkovskaya cases bear an uncanny resemblance to the Lasantha Wickrematunge murder and the botched investigation that has followed.
Lasantha was the second journalist to be honoured posthumously with the UNESCO Press Freedom Prize since it was created 14 years ago and the move was a testimony to the risk many journalists ran in the pursuit of their calling. Russia’s Anna Politkovskaya, also an unapologetic critic of military and political excess, who was brutally murdered in Moscow in October 2006, was the first.
Anna and Lasantha
The life trajectories of Anna and Lasantha bear bizarre similarities. They were both born in 1958. They were both courageous critics of state-sponsored violence and spoke fearlessly for human rights. They were both threatened with death over a period of years. They both suffered repeated attempts on their lives. And they both chose not to flee, but to stay on and fight to the end. They both knew full well that they would pay with their lives. And they both knew who their murderers would be.
But the fate that befell Anna and Lasantha is not an isolated one. In Sri Lanka, it has become the norm for journalists to be killed or brutally attacked in the pursuit of their profession.
Obama administration committed
Freedom House Senior Program Manager for Eurasia Susan M. Corke in an interview with Lanka Independent on the fall out of the proposed legislation and the US Visa ban told this website the Obama Administration has verbally committed to supporting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law as part of its national security strategy and foreign policy. (See full interview below)
INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN M. CORKE, SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER FOR EURASIA AT FREEDOM HOUSE
Lanka Independent: Do you think the interest in the Sergei Magnitsky case was because he worked for a US company or do you think that this is more reflective of a general policy against human rights abuse within the Obama Administration?
Susan M. Corke: The Sergei Magnitsky case I believe struck a chord because it is a very tragic example of the real human risk when you have a system where government officials are able to protect corrupt interests and abuse human rights without fear that they will actually be held accountable.
The human rights record in Russia is poor and there have been many cases of abuse in prison in Russia. Magnitsky carefully documented his requests for treatment, evidence of mistreatment, and denial of adequate medical care. In many cases, while there is suspicion of abuse, it is harder to be able to trace evidence of responsibility. Jailed unjustly after alleging officers of Russia’s Interior Ministry took part in a $230 million tax fraud against his client, Hermitage Capital, Magnitsky was essentially murdered in jail by being denied medical treatment despite endless pleas for help.
William Browder of Hermitage Capital and others were determined to bring international attention to the search for justice in this case, but also to shine a spotlight on a systemic problem in Russia where the government is complicit in facilitating and enabling abuse. The Obama Administration has verbally committed to supporting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law as part of its national security strategy and foreign policy. We hope it applies this commitment to pressing Russia to not only hold the perpetrators in the Magnitsky case accountable, but to take significant steps to improve rule of law in Russia more broadly.
Given the current absence of accountability and rule of law in Russia, with this legislation American and European parliamentarians have made it clear that if Russian officials engage in major human rights abuses, they and their immediate families cannot enjoy the privilege of traveling to or living or studying in the West, or doing their banking in Western financial institutions.
LI: Moscow has threatened retaliation and has threatened to curtail cooperation on Iran, North Korea, Libya and the transit of supplies for Afghanistan if the Senate passes the measure imposing even tougher sanctions for human rights abuses. Do you think the US is not taking as seriously the political question any more, when dealing with these cases and simply looking to do the right thing regardless of threats of retaliation?
SMC: If Russia believes that the reset is so shallow that the relationship is worth dismantling over this legislation, than the longevity of the reset is already in jeopardy. Russia presumably is cooperating with us on strategic challenges because it is in their interest to do so. They are not doing us a favor because they want to be nice. If they want to retaliate and stop cooperation because of the Magnitsky bill, then we really need to reexamine the relationship.
LI: Senators Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act in May which lists the names of those officials involved or linked to the death of Sergei Magnitsky. How broad is the scope of this?
SMC: The Act would impose a visa ban and asset freeze against Russian officials suspected of involvement in Sergei Magnitsky’s murder and looks to extend such measures to other human rights abuse cases in Russia as well.
LI: It seems those officials ‘linked’ to the murder have been listed. Does this envisage sufficient knowledge and satisfaction by the US that an official was likely to have been involved or would it require a higher level of proof?
SMC: The names of those on a visa ban list are not made public because of visa confidentiality. I can only speculate – but I would imagine that the U.S. would need to reach high level of proof, based on solid evidence, that the officials named had responsibility in some way for the death of Sergei Magnitsky.
LI: Freedom House told the Washington Post last week “They don’t have to worry about anything if they don’t kill journalists or lawyers,” can you expand on this?
SMC: Countries that have strong human rights records, where perpetrators would be held accountable through due process for killing a journalist or a lawyer would not worry about another country threatening to deny visas to human rights abusers. If Russia would like to foreclose discussion of legislation on human rights, there is a simple answer. Russian officials must take real steps to change the system that enables human rights abuses and hold accountable those who commit abuses. We would all like to see Russia act as a responsible and democratic country so that such legislation wouldn’t be necessary at all. If Russia wants to be treated like a partner, then it needs to abide by the rules and norms required of a member of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
18 Comments to “Russian officials on US blacklist: Human Rights abusers of other nations could also face visa bans”
August 8, 2011 at 5:28 pm
Well you guys don’t hold your breath now, because anything can happen and fate can deal several blows
August 8, 2011 at 5:26 pm
The Rajapakses will reign for another 20 years like Gaddafi in Libya
August 8, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Don’t hold your breath
August 8, 2011 at 5:25 pm
I think the noose is closing in on the Rajapakses
August 7, 2011 at 9:38 pm
I live in Melbourne and there is a lot of very nasty sinhala and tamil rabid people here. They are all in Melbourne. I can tell you these people have been part of the diaspora that became the problem. They lived in the comfort of their homes and felt powerful by trying to manipulate what was going on in sri lanka. A lot of these people are ignorant and have personal agendas. So Ramani Nanayakkara I do not think diaspora should ever get involved.
August 7, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Without lobbying for stupid things all the diaspora both sinhala tamil burgher whatever should get together to support a move to ban visas in all these countries for the Rajapakses – all the Rajapakses . Then they will realise what they are doing to the people. The problem is a few businessmen get perks from them and so also ride the gravy train
August 7, 2011 at 9:32 pm
This has nothing to do with LTTE this has to do with HR vioalrions. Obviously they would also put LTTE p;eople if any have survived on this same list together with government ministers who once killed 630 policemen Karuna
August 7, 2011 at 9:30 pm
The US is not bothered about Sri Lanka. Also I saw in this webiste by this same writer an article saying Us wil lnever support LTTE backed tamil diaspora
August 7, 2011 at 9:29 pm
Mr Dharmadasa No they do not practice what they preach but I still think that the move will be a good blow to our all powerful dictators and this is where it will hurt them most when they get it personally. Then they will think twice about white vans and killing journalists
August 7, 2011 at 9:27 pm
Edithara, we have to be bothered about all killings yes. but as sri lankans we can and must do something about getting justice in our own country. We can support any other HR violations taking place anywhere else by Us or any other country too, but dont start these comparisons. Jusrt because the Us is doing something you say does not mean we are right
August 7, 2011 at 3:38 pm
What a courageous jounalist you are who is brave as your late husband. Unless a journalist like you no one would dare to write these.
Well done keep it up your good work.
August 7, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Mr Dharmadasa you are right the world cannot condone that either as much as they must not condone these actions in other countries. We should try to get justice somehow for everyone. If in sri lanka the best way to get justice is to impose personal sanctions against individuals so obviously complicit in extra judicial killings then we should welcome it.
August 7, 2011 at 7:41 am
Do they practice what they preach? When it came to touch their interests they didn’t hesitate to put pressure to their friends to arrest Julian Assange illegally and extradite him back to US. How many prisoners of war have been ill treated and tortured by US army? Their so-boasted judicial system denied the justice to a group of Arab detainees whose penises were cut and plastered with chilly powder by their military men. The reason given was that these hearings would cause damage to their war strategies!!! They manufacture theories for others for their survival.
August 7, 2011 at 5:47 am
Killing journalists, lawyers, (Humans) etc. we as civilized people should be criticized. I would like to bring above commented SL idiots attention that us army was cutting throats of innocent Iraqi people (barbaric act) and then who imposed sanctions. All games.
August 7, 2011 at 3:22 am
It is not that difficult to show that individuals were involved in killing lasantha and other journalists and also war crimes . The noose will oneday tighten around the rajapakses
August 7, 2011 at 3:19 am
The Us will never ban sri lankan royal family
August 7, 2011 at 3:18 am
It is very difficult to get this type of legislation through. so advocates for HR will have a hard time getting something similar done for sri lanka
August 7, 2011 at 3:17 am
This is a superb move by the US government and one only hopes that the White Hlouse will support fully the congressional efforts to pass this bill into law. And yes regardless of the bill human rights abusers should be warned especially those riding high in sri lanka. Let’s see how they like it when they cant travel to US, Canada, EU and send their children to the universities there.