Media: Britain will introduce personal sanctions against Russian citizens
The British foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Monday will announce the names of citizens of Russia and Saudi Arabia, against which sanctions will be imposed for the violation of human rights in the framework of the "Magnitsky amendment", reports Financial Times.
The publication indicates that the list, apparently, will appear also the names of the Saudis suspected of involvement in the murder of a Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Casucci.
"With this legislation, the UK will get new powers and be able to prevent to enter Britain those who are involved in gross human rights violations, to direct money to our banks and to benefit from our economy", - said the newspaper the head of the British foreign Ministry.
According to him, later in the year the sanctions regime can be expanded: under the restrictions may include people suspected of corruption, as well as persons suspected of harassment of journalists and insult people because of their religious beliefs.
While Raab acknowledged that "somewhat concerned" how the new sanctions would affect bilateral relations. However, according to the foreign Minister of Britain, "from a moral point of view, it's the right thing to do." He added that the Magnitsky case, which he called the "Solzhenitsyn of his generation", "very close to his heart"
In October 2018 the British government said that after leaving the EU, Britain will start applying their own sanctions legislation. The Cabinet of Ministers promised to publish national lists of persons subject to sanctions "in normal mode" in the electronic database of legislative documents.
The law "On sanctions and measures against the laundering of money" with the "Magnitsky amendment" allowing the authorities in Britain to impose sanctions against those who violate human rights, entered into force may 24, 2018, with the approval of Queen Elizabeth II. The law provides that it will apply only after the British exit from the EU. The authors of this law are the Minister of foreign Affairs of great Britain (at the time of introduction of the document) Boris Johnson and Deputy foreign Minister Tariq Ahmed.
Employee of a major investment Fund Hermitage Capital Management Sergey Magnitsky, whom Russian authorities accused of tax fraud, died in the SIZO "Matrosskaya Tishina" in November 2009, having been in prison for almost a year. His death caused a wide public resonance both in Russia and abroad.