Human rights security

U.S. Lawmakers Approve Global Magnitsky Act Targeting Rights Abusers

 A U.S. congressional committee has approved legislation targeting human rights abusers worldwide with sanctions modeled after the Magnitsky Act, a U.S. law punishing Russians deemed by Washington to be rights violators with visa bans and asset freezes.

The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act at a May 18 hearing that included fireworks over whether to name the bill after a whistle-blowing accountant who accused Russian officials of a massive tax fraud before his death in a Moscow jail.

The legislation is named after Sergei Magnitsky, who died in November 2009 while in custody after alleged beatings, torture, and medical negligence that supporters claim were retribution for implicating tax and law enforcement officials in a $230 million tax scam.