US Slaps Sanctions on Chechen Terek Special Rapid Response Team, 5 Individuals

On 6 May, the chairs of the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Financial Services said in a letter that US lawmakers are demanding that the Trump administration produce an overdue annual report on human rights in Russia, as is required under the Magnitsky Act.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Chechen Terek Special Rapid Response Team and five individuals, including at least three Russians, for alleged human rights abuses under the Global Magnitsky Act, the US Treasury announced on its website.

"Today, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated five individuals and one entity pursuant to the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (the Magnitsky Act)", the Treasury Department said in a press release.

The designations include Russian nationals Ruslan Geremeyev, Elena Trikulya and Abuzayed Vismuradov, along with Gennady Karlov and Sergei Kossiev, the release added.

READ MORE: US House Lawmakers Demand Trump Produce Overdue Russia Sanctions Report

Washington adopted the so-called Magnitsky Act in late 2012, imposing travel bans and financial sanctions on Russian officials after the death of Russian national Sergei Magnitsky while in custody in a Russian prison. The investigation into Magnitsky's death revealed that the tax accountant, who had diabetes, died of natural causes.

In 2016, Congress expanded the legislation by adopting the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the US government to impose sanctions on any entity or individual — regardless of nationality — implicated in what the US authorities describe as human rights abuses.