The director of the Global Magnitsky justice campaign, Bill Browder, supported by MEPs Ana Gomes (S&D, Portugual), Marietje Schaake (ALDE, Netherlands) and Gunnar Hökmark (EPP, Sweden), called on the EU on Tuesday 29 January to adopt a Magnitsky Act to punish human rights abusers around the globe.
This act is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in 2009 as a result of torture. According to Mr. Browder, even if this is not the best form of justice, it is already better than impunity.
MEPs called for the adoption of a sanctions regime - asset freeze and visa ban - for those found guilty of these violations. They announced that the Parliament was working on a new resolution to this effect.
According to Ms. Gomes, this is not only a human rights issue, but also money laundering with funds within the EU. With the European elections approaching and the future change of the Commission, there is no “better time” to adopt such a list “to say that human rights are taken seriously and that sanctions can be taken”, added Ms Schaake.
As early as 2013, the European Parliament called for a 'Magnitsky Law', but, according to Mr Browder, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said that this was not a good idea.
Already questioned on the subject in 2016, the European External Action Service had referred the matter back to Member States (see EUROPE 11546), which, at the instigation of the Netherlands, asked the High Representative in December 2018 to work on a more specific proposal for a universal human rights sanctions regime (see EUROPE 12156).
Beyond the adoption of such a sanctions regime, speakers stressed the need for it to bear the name Magnitsky, questioning the fact that several Member States, but also the High Representative, are opposed to this. For Mr. Browder, removing the name Magnitsky would be an insult to the lawyer and a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin. For Ms. Gomes, the name issue is just an excuse for not acting. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)