Britain introduces "Magnitsky" sanctions against Human rights abusers.

Yesterday the British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, announced that forty-nine individuals would be sanctioned under our new global human rights regime, demonstrating Global Britain’s commitment to acting as a force for good in the world.

  • As we forge a dynamic new vision for a truly Global Britain, the government is committed to making the United Kingdom an even stronger force for good in the world. 
     
  • That is why Britain has introduced a new ‘Magnitsky’-style sanctions regime, that will target those who have been involved in some of the gravest human rights violations and abuses around the world, stopping them from entering the country, channelling money through UK banks, or profiting from our economy. 
     
  • Through this action, and by continuing to work closely with our international allies, we are underscoring our position as a global force for good that will stand up for victims of human rights violations and abuses around the world.

These measures are known as "Magnitsky" sanctions after Sergei Magnitsky, a taxd expert who died after 11 months of mistreatment in Russian police custody in 2009 after being arrested himself on trumped-up charges when he raised allegations that Russian officials had been involved in massive theft and tax fraud.

His friend and colleague Bill Browder has campaigned for a decade for sanctions against individuals responsible for such human rights violations, resulting in laws being passed in the USA, the European parliament, and the UK parliament and considered in other countries.

Alexander Bastrykin, an investigator who reports directly to President Vladimir Putin, and Aleksey Anichin, a former deputy interior minister, are among the Russians who the UK has now blacklisted over Magnitsky's death.

The UK has also sanctioned 20 Saudis for their roles in the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018, including intelligence and security officials in the office of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The two top members of Myanmar's armed forces are sanctioned for their role in the persecution of the Rohingya, while two North Korean security ministries face asset freezes because of their involvement in murder, torture and slave labour in the country's prison camps.


Speaking about the new sanctions regime, Mr Raab told parliament yesterday: "If you're a kleptocrat or an organised criminal, you will not be able to launder your blood money in this country."

He added:

"Today this government...sends a very clear message on behalf of the British people that those with blood on their hands, the thugs and despots, the henchmen and dictators, will not be free to waltz into this country to buy up property on the King's Road, to do their Christmas shopping in Knightsbridge, or frankly to siphon dirty money through British banks or other financial institutions."

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