Legislative Action:
Please support the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act”
currently before both houses of Congress. The act is designed to punish
officials who are involved in torture, murder, restrictions of religious
freedom or other human rights, by taking away their right to travel to the
US.
Sergei Magnitsky was arrested in November 2008 on tax-evasion charges
linked to his work with London-based Hermitage Capital Management. He
was a Jewish U.S. lawyer who represented his client and exposed
corruption in business dealings with Russia.
According to the Associated Press, Hermitage Capital Mangement was one
the largest investment firms in Russia.
Magnitsky was inprisoned under harsh conditions, and was refused medical
treatment. He died in prison on November 16, 2009, at age 37.
William Browder, chief executive of the Hermitage Investment Fund,
believes Russian authorities allowed pancreatitis, which Magnitsky
developed in jail, to go untreated. He was repeatedly denied medical
attention and was kept for almost a year in inhuman conditions without
trial. The Interior Ministry said that Magnitsky died of apparent heart
failure and toxic shock.
Browder was banned from Russia in 2005 after accusing Interior Ministry
officers of stealing more than $230 million in budget funds.
Magnitsky and Browder made enemies through their campaign for greater
transparency of Russia's biggest conglomerates, most of which have close
ties to the state.
See letter below.
June 13, 2012
Dear Member of Congress,
We are religious and human rights organizations which work together on issues of international
importance and today we are writing you to support the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability
Act” currently before both houses of Congress.
Issues of human rights and religious freedom are inseparable. As representatives of a wide number of
religions and faiths across the United States, we do everything possible to make sure that all people can
practice their faith around the world without restriction or interference. For this reason, we strongly
support the passage of the “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act” (H.R 4405 / S.1039). This
Act was named after Sergei Magnitsky, a young lawyer in Russia who bravely stood up to corruption,
and ultimately paid the highest possible price by losing his life at the hands of the official of the Russian
state involved in the corruption he uncovered. The details of his story are extremely sad, but his sacrifice
will hopefully lead to an important and new method for fighting human rights abuses which could have
a dramatic effect everywhere.
Among other things, we support this legislation because it specifically targets officials who abuse human
rights with effective travel and financial sanctions. America's rule of law, property rights and entrenched
freedoms make our country a magnet for millions of people all over the world. They visit our great
nation to enjoy our stability, use our banking system and feel safe. We support sharing our way of life
with people from all over the world who want to visit our country. At the same time, coming to America
is a privilege and not a right, and when foreign officials are involved in torture, murder, restrictions of
religious freedom or other human rights abuses, they should have that privilege taken away. We believe
that this law would not only create an effective punishment for people who have violated human rights,
but also a powerful deterrent for people not to do these things in the future.
It is one thing to talk about human rights and religious freedoms and quite another to actually do
something about it. Because of the well thought out terms of this legislation, we believe that this bill will
become an effective lever that the United States will have in dealing with this pernicious and growing
problem of human rights abuses around the world. We strongly urge you to co-sponsor this bill in the
short term and vote for its passage into law.
Sincerely Yours,
ORGANIZATIONS
ACTION FOR POST-SOVIET JEWRY
AMERICAN ISLAMIC CONGRESS
CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY
HINDU AMERICAN FOUNDATION
HUMAN RIGHTS LAW FOUNDATION
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
PARTNERS FOR A PROGRESSIVE ISRAEL
UNITED MACEDONIAM DIASPORA
UNION OF COUNCILS FOR JEWS IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION (UCSJ)
Individuals
C. Naseer Ahmad
President
AZI Consulting Inc.
Professor Jerome A. Chanes
Senior Fellow, CUNY Graduate Center,
New York, NY
Rabbi Israel S. Dresner,
Temple Beth Tikvah
Wayne, NJ
Mark Gold,
Former President Americans for a Progressive Israel
Teaneck, NJ
Professor Leonard Grob
Professor Emeritus, Fairleigh-Dickinson University
Rutherford, NJ
Rabbi Roger Lerner,
Temple B'nai Brith,
Kingston, PA
Greg Mitchell
President
The Mitchell Firm
Senge Hasnan Sering
President
Institute for Gilgit Baltistan Studies
Michael Stoddard Ph.D.
Visiting Fellow, Greyfriars Hall, Oxford University
Visiting Fellow, The Oxford Institute on International Law & Justice
Lecturer, San Diego State University