Strasbourg, 30/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is recommending that, as a last resort, member states follow the US example of targeted sanctions against people involved in the death in prison of the Russian tax expert, Sergei Magnitski. These could include bans on visas and the freezing of bank accounts if the Russian authorities do not provide convincing explanations about this affair that dates back to 2009. PACE does, however, suggest that Russia be given time to respond to this warning. Based on a detailed report by Swiss Socialist, Andreas Gross, this resolution includes a recommendation calling on the governments of the Council of Europe to improve international cooperation in the investigation into the embezzlement of funds revealed by Magnitski. These two texts did not receive the votes of the representatives of the Russian delegation who interpreted them as an attempt to denigrate their country. (VL/transl.fl)