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UK imposes sanctions against human rights abusers UK imposes sanctions against human rights abusers
(32 minutes later)
The UK is imposing sanctions on 49 people behind the most "notorious" human rights abuses of recent years. The UK is imposing sanctions on 49 people and organisations behind the most "notorious" human rights abuses of recent years.
Individuals implicated in the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 will have their UK assets frozen and banned from the UK. Individuals implicated in the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 will have their UK assets frozen and banned from entering the country.
Action will also be taken against two Myanmar generals over the violence against the Rohingya people. And Saudi Arabian officials involved in the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are also being targeted.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said perpetrators must be held to account. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the move sent a "strong message".
Speaking in the Commons, the foreign secretary said the UK was taking action against the "thugs of despots and henchmen of dictators" as well as stopping those trying to launder their "blood-stained ill-gotten gains". Speaking in the Commons, the foreign secretary said the UK was taking action against the "thugs of despots and henchmen of dictators" as well as stopping as those trying to launder their "blood-drenched ill-gotten gains".
Russian officials implicated in the death of Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 are also set to be subject to travel bans. The sanctions are the first taken independently by the UK outside the auspices of the UN and EU.
The whistleblower's maltreatment while in custody has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights. Those individuals and organisations subject to immediate sanctions are:
In the past, the UK has almost always imposed sanctions collectively as a member of the United Nations or European Union. Mr Raab said those targeted had been involved in extra-judicial killings, including political assassinations, torture, degrading treatment, forced labour and servitude.
But the UK is putting in place its own sanctions regime after its withdrawal from the EU, underpinned by legislation passed in 2018. Those on the list, which includes a former minister in the Russian interior department and the former deputy head of the Saudi intelligence services, will be stopped from entering the UK, channelling money into the country or profiting from the British economy, through property or other assets they own.
The UK will initially target individuals or organisations accused of human rights violations around the world, as well as those who profit financially from those abuses. "Today this government and this house sends a very clear message on behalf of the British people that those with blood on their hands, the thugs of despots, the henchman of dictators will not be free to waltz into this country."
Speaking in the Commons the foreign secretary named several dozen people who will have their assets in the UK frozen immediately and who will also be banned from entering the country. "The powers enable us to target a wider network of perpetrators including those who facilitate, incite, promote or support any of these crimes and this extends beyond state officials to non-state actors as well."
Ahead of a statement to Parliament, Mr Raab tweeted that those being designated were responsible for the "gravest violations".
'10 year campaign''10 year campaign'
Many MPs have long been pushing for a tougher domestic sanctions regime against foreign states accused of human rights abuses, based on the US Magnitsky Act.Many MPs have long been pushing for a tougher domestic sanctions regime against foreign states accused of human rights abuses, based on the US Magnitsky Act.
The law was passed in response to the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a Moscow lawyer and auditor who accused Russian tax officials of defrauding Hermitage Capital Management, a foreign investment firm he was advising.The law was passed in response to the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a Moscow lawyer and auditor who accused Russian tax officials of defrauding Hermitage Capital Management, a foreign investment firm he was advising.
Magnitsky spent 11 months in police custody after being arrested in 2008, during which he sustained injuries which human rights campaigners say were consistent with him being beaten and tortured.Magnitsky spent 11 months in police custody after being arrested in 2008, during which he sustained injuries which human rights campaigners say were consistent with him being beaten and tortured.
In 2019, European Court of Human Rights found there had been "multiple violations" of the European Convention of Human Rights, with Magnitsky being deprived of important medical care and the authorities had not complied with their duty to protect life. His maltreatment has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights, which found in 2019 that he had been deprived of important medical care and the authorities had not complied with their duty to protect life.
Bill Browder, co-founder and chief executive of Hermitage Capital, said the sanctioning of individuals involved would represent "a huge milestone in our 10 year campaign for justice". 'Solidarity'
The list of those being sanctioned is not expected to include anyone from China. Mr Raab said he would be meeting Magnitsky's widow Natalia and two children later on Monday to express the UK's "solidarity" with them and the nightmare that they had been through.
It comes amid tensions between the UK and China after the Chinese government introduced a new security law in Hong Kong, which Boris Johnson said violated freedoms of the UK's former colony. Bill Browder, co-founder and chief executive of Hermitage Capital, said the action represented "a huge milestone in our 10 year campaign for justice".
A Foreign Office spokesperson said the UK would continue to work with its allies to punish those responsible for violations, potentially including those "who commit unlawful killings perpetrated against journalists and media workers, or activity motivated on the grounds of religion or belief". Mr Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the Saudi government, was killed by a team of Saudi agents in what the Saudi authorities described as a "rogue operation" that went wrong.
In December 2019, a court in Saudi Arabia sentenced five people to death and jailed three others but the process was condemned by the foreign government and the UN, which said it represented "the antithesis of justice".
The Foreign Office said its new regime, underpinned by legislation passed in 2018, could be extended in future to encompass individuals and governments guilty of corruption.
The 2018 Sanctions and Anti-money Laundering Act gave the UK government the powers to introduce some of the same sanctions that would have otherwise been decided by the EU.The 2018 Sanctions and Anti-money Laundering Act gave the UK government the powers to introduce some of the same sanctions that would have otherwise been decided by the EU.
BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale said the new regime had been formed "a central plank of the government's foreign policy ambition to make Britain a global defender of international rules and human rights".
The UK is required by law to enforce existing EU sanctions it is a party to until the end of the transition period on 1 January 2021. The government has said it will maintain these after that date and also existing UN sanctions.The UK is required by law to enforce existing EU sanctions it is a party to until the end of the transition period on 1 January 2021. The government has said it will maintain these after that date and also existing UN sanctions.