UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab unveiled new sanctions against 49 persons and groups accused of violating 'Magnitsky amendment' legislation from countries including Russia, Saudi Arabia, North Korea and Myanmar on Monday.
"This government is committed to the UK being an ever stronger force for good in the world," Raab said in an address to parliament. "We will hold to account the perpetrators of the worst human rights abuses," he promised.
"Those with blood on their hands won't be free...to waltz into this country, to buy up property on the Kings Road, do their Christmas shopping in Knightsbridge, or siphon dirty money through British banks," the foreign secretary added.
The designations come in the wake of media reports over the weekend promising government action against alleged human rights violators from other countries. The new sanctions are the first of their kind since the UK's exit from the European Union in February.
Russia maintains that there was no malicious intent or criminal negligence involved in Magnitsky's death. In a 2013 interview, President Vladimir Putin stressed that "there was no torture, as has been said, there was nothing else that would require the prosecution of officials. The case is closed."
Russia Will Respond
Monday's sanctions include restrictions against 25 Russian officials accused by the UK of involvement in Magnitsky's death, as well as 20 Saudi officials said to be behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a consulate in Turkey in 2018. The sanctions also target 2 generals accused of mass violence against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, plus two entities for their alleged role in the operation of North Korean prisons.
The sanctions reportedly included Russian Investigative Committee Chief Alexander Bastrykin. Commenting on the sanctions, the Russian Embassy in the UK said the inclusion of Bastrykin in the sanctions list was especially "outrageous," and warned that Moscow has the right to respond in kind.
"The inclusion in the sanction list of senior officials from the General Prosecutor's Office and the Investigative Committee as well as judges is particularly disturbing. In Russia, investigators, the prosecutor's office and the courts operate on the basis of independence from the executive branch and are guided exclusively by the law. In their practical work, they should not be made to consider possible hypothetical sanctions that might be imposed by a foreign state for political reasons," the Embassy said in a statement.
Taking questions following the announcement, Raab did not rule out adding Hong Kong chief Carrie Lam to be added to the sanctions list over the suppression of Hong Kong's 'pro-democracy protests'.
US Praises Britain's 'Independent' Sanctions
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised London's sanctions in a tweet later Monday, saying the US welcomes "the UK's establishment of a Global Human Rights sanctions regime" and calling Britain "a global leader and our close partner in promoting and protecting human rights."
We welcome the UK’s establishment of a Global Human Rights sanctions regime that promotes accountability for serious Human Rights abuses. The UK is a global leader and our close partner in promoting and protecting human rights. #GlobalMagnitsky
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 6, 2020
Bill Browder, the US-born British hedge fund manager who employed Magnitsky and lobbied for US and UK sanctions against Russia, also praised the designations, calling them a "huge milestone in our 10 [year] campaign for justice." Browder was kicked out of Russia on suspicion of shady market deals in the mid-2000s. In 2013 he was convicted in absentia by a Russian court for a range of crimes including tax evasion, fraud and for deliberately bankrupting a company in a slash and burn scheme. Later, some of Browder's alleged offshore shell companies were uncovered in the Panama Papers revelations.
BREAKING: UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to announce implementation of U.K. Magnitsky Act today. First group of sanctions will be applied to Sergei Magnitsky’s killers. Huge milestone in our 10 campaign for justice. https://t.co/e15lYqQO4a
— Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) July 6, 2020
