The Verdict That Does Not Make Sense

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs bitterly reacted to the introduction of a U.S. Congress bill that will enact financial sanctions and visa bans for Russian officials implicated in the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for the investment firm Hermitage Capital, who died in a pre-trial detention center. At Smolenskaya Square (where the building of Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located), this move was called a “political show” in the spirit of the cold war. Russian human rights activists, on the other hand, supported this initiative with great enthusiasm. It is possible, that very soon Europe will follow the example of the United States.

The proposition of the bill by Democratic Senator Benjamin Cardin — in response to the death of Sergei Magnitsky in November — was the reason for the new disagreement between Moscow and Washington. Last week, Senator Benjamin Cardin and the U.S. Representative James McGovern finished a draft of the “Justice for Sergei Magnitsky Act” for introduction into Congress. According to them, the U.S. should ban 60 Russian officials implicated in this high-profile case from entering the country. Moreover, according to Senator Cardin, “at the least we can and should block these corrupt individuals from traveling and investing their ill-gotten money in our country.”

The new law provoked a strong reaction in Moscow. On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement where the U.S. initiative was called a “political show causing perplexity and regret.”According to Russian officials, this bill “is not only in discord with the current level of cooperation between our countries, but it is also casting an air of the Cold War and goes beyond basic norms of decency.” Previously, Moscow pointed out that the death of Sergei Magnitsky is Russia’s internal affair and does not require external interference.

In its turn, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs told Kommersant that they do not understand the logic of American lawmakers who included “some people who were not involved in any way with the Magnitsky case,” such as Margarita Zinurova, Vice President of Moscow’s Commercial Court, who was reviewing Hermitage Capital civil proceedings. “It is possible, that the Hermitage Capital executives did not like her decisions which, later, were confirmed by their higher authorities. Why were the representatives of those authorities not included on the list?” the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs commented.

Another person involved in the case is Stanislav Gordievsky, an investigator from the Investigation Department for the Prosecutor’s Office of Southern Administrative District in Moscow. During an interview with Kommersant, Gordievsky stated that he was very surprised to find his name on “the black list.” His participation in the case was limited to finding forgery committed by Eduard Hayretdinov and Vladimir Pastukhov, Hermitage Capital lawyers. This fact was not opposed by anyone.

Alexander Ryabinin, a member of the investigation group for the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs Investigation Committee — whose entry into the U.S. will, possibly, be banned — in a conversation with Kommersant stated, that the “ U.S. Congress does not want to find the real reasons of the incident; meanwhile, Hermitage Capital executives are using their government relations for their own profit.” According to Ryabinin, William Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital, is in this way determined “to return unlawfully obtained money from the Russian territory.” Furthermore, Mr. Ryabinin emphasized that namely Hermitage Capital executives had benefited from the death of a lawyer, who could have told a lot about the firm in court hearings.

On the other hand, Russian human rights activists supported the U.S. lawmakers’ initiative. During an interview with Kommersant, Lyudmila Alekseeva, President of the Moscow Helsinki Commission, stated that there is a good chance for the bill to be approved, because it was prepared by a “serious and experienced man,” i.e. James McGovern. “This initiative caused such an angry reaction in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a reason. It is understood that it can end for them very unpleasantly,” added Ms. Alekseeva. As a reminder, the Russian human rights activists already have asked the U.S. and the European Union countries to ban visas for the officials implicated in the death of Sergei Magnitsky. According to Lyudmila Alekseeva, such calls will stop “once the national legal system starts to work.”

It is not impossible that, in the near future, Europe will respond to the call of the human rights activists. As an example, very recently, William Hague, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, has discussed the topic of sanctions against people from Cardin’s list. “The U.K. immigration officers can refuse [visas], if they believe that the presence of such individuals in the U.K. will be undesirable for the good of society,” commented Mr. Hague.* The investigation of the Hermitage Capital lawyer’s death, perhaps, will be discussed by Mr. Hague during his visit to Moscow in the middle of October.

Besides, the Polish government announced their willingness to discuss the proposition of sanctions against individuals from Cardin’s list. In particular, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslav Sikorsky mentioned in the letter to the Director of Polish Seym Human Rights Committee, Rizard Kalich, that “unlawful actions and human rights violations should not be ignored by the international community.” In this case, if Warsaw will put 60 Russian names on “the black list,” the doors of all the Schengen Agreement’s countries would be closed for them, too.

*This quote, while accurately translated, could not be verified.