The Magnitsky case: European Parliament urges Council to impose sanctions in the Magnitsky case

At the last session of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the committee’s members once again turned to the case of the Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. In an initial discussion, the MEPs took up a report by MEP Kristiina Ojuland, which calls on the Council to move at last to adopt sanctions against Russian officials who share responsibility for the lawyer’s death. I expressly support this initiative. The European Union has waited long enough for the conclusion of the in-depth investigations promised by the Russian authorities. We have discussed the case on multiple occasions and in several different forums and asked the Council of Member States to take action through multiple resolutions and initiatives.

Although the parliaments of individual EU member states, such as Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Poland and Sweden, have spoken out in favour of the sanctions called for by the European Parliament in December of 2010, validity throughout all of Europe requires a joint decision by the council of all European Member States.

The fact is that the case of the lawyer, murdered in November of 2010 while in police custody in Russia, who exposed massive tax fraud involving the Russian authorities, is only the tip of the iceberg. Corruption and impunity are not simply widespread in the Russian Federation: they are part of the system, promoting arbitrary behaviour on the part of officials and harming the development of civil society and the modernization of the country. Europe must, finally, act.

more information:

• What significant developments and decisions were taken since Magnitsky's death, almost two years ago?, september 2011
• Short note on the extraordinary delegation meeting regarding the case of Sergey Magnitsky, may 2011
• Parliamentary Question of Werner Schulz in case of Sergej Magnitsky, march 2011