[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 166 (Friday, December 21, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8356-S8357]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       PASSAGE OF THE RUSSIA AND MOLDOVA JACKSON-VANIK REPEAL ACT

  Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Congress for 
passing an important piece of legislation--the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of 
Law and Accountability Act incorporated into the Russia and Moldova 
Jackson-Vanik Repeal Act of 2012. As a member of the Foreign Relations 
Committee, I must note it is one of the most important pieces of 
foreign policy legislation dealing with human rights we have taken up 
in recent years. In particular, I want to commend my colleague, Senator 
Cardin, for his work on the Magnitsky Act. Bringing Russia into the 
World Trade Organization, WTO, is a good thing. The WTO is a rules-
based organization that will create a level playing field for U.S. 
companies that want to export their products to Russia.
  As committed as we are to strengthening trade links between the 
United States and Russia, we must be even more dedicated to promoting 
the rule of law and protecting the brave Russian individuals and 
organizations fighting for democracy and human rights. This is why the 
Magnitsky Act is so important. In the year following Mr. Putin's return 
to the Presidency, he has built on his repressive record by instituting 
laws that crack down on freedom of expression, assembly, and 
association. A new law makes it easier for the state to accuse a person 
of treason and members of a female rock band have been jailed for 
criticizing Mr. Putin. These measures are designed to strike back at a 
rapidly increasing segment of Russian society demanding an end to 
corruption, oppression, and calling for genuine democratic governance, 
human rights, and the rule of law.
  The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law and Accountability Act is named 
after a man who witnessed the deep-seated rot that is a major part of 
Russia's governance today and decided to expose it to the public. For 
those who might be unfamiliar with the case, Mr. Magnitsky was an 
accountant with Hermitage Capitol Management, which had publicly 
disclosed several instances of alleged Russian Government and corporate 
corruption related to state-run industries. The company's founder, Bill 
Browder, was expelled from Russia by government bureaucrats who viewed 
him as a threat. In 2007, Russian authorities raided Hermitage's 
offices and subsequently accused the firm of tax evasion and owing 
hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes. Mr. Magnitsky 
investigated these charges and discovered that it was the police who 
had provided seized tax records to Russian criminal elements who then 
falsified documents and received a $230 million rebate from the Russian 
treasury--the largest in Russian history.
  What is shocking is that when Mr. Magnitsky went to the Russian 
Government with the evidence he uncovered in 2008, he was the one 
arrested and jailed. He was held 11 months without trial, became sick, 
and was denied medical treatment and visits by his family. Mr. 
Magnitsky was held in horrible conditions. According to his diary, 
Russian authorities reputedly pressured him to recant his accusations 
and instead accuse Hermitage of financial crimes. On November 16, 2009, 
Mr. Magnitsky died in Russian custody. According to the head of the 
Moscow Helsinki Group, Ludmila Alekseeva, Magnitsky had died from 
beatings and torture carried out by several officers of Russia's 
Ministry of Interior. Some people also point to the deliberate denial 
of medical care for his illnesses as a contributing factor to his 
death. In standing up for truth, justice, and the rule of law, Mr. 
Magnitsky gave the Russian people his life. To date, not one senior 
government official has been held responsible for his death. Instead, 
in a gesture of mockery, last February the Russian police resubmitted a 
criminal case against Mr. Magnitsky, making him the first Russian 
citizen to be tried after his death.
  The Magnitsky Act takes a measured and targeted approach to 
identifying and dealing with those who are responsible for egregious 
human rights and antidemocratic activities throughout Russia. This bill 
allows the Secretary of State to identify and compile a list of people 
responsible for the death of Magnitsky, engaged in its coverup, or 
having financially benefited from his death. The bill offers 
significant sanctions on those identified by the State Department. They 
are to be denied visas to the United States, have any assets in U.S. 
jurisdiction frozen, and prevented from using the U.S. banking system.
  For the record, as a cosponsor of this bill, I want to be absolutely 
crystal clear on one particular point. While the death of Mr. Magnitsky 
is tragic, this bill is not reserved just for those complicit in his 
death. This legislation not only applies to those involved in the death 
of Mr. Magnitsky, but it also applies to those involved in, as the bill 
states, ``extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of 
human rights committed against individuals seeking to expose illegal 
activity carried out by officials of the Government of the Russian 
Federation; or to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote internationally 
recognized human rights and freedoms, such as the freedoms of religion, 
expression, association, and assembly and the rights to a fair trial 
and democratic elections, anywhere in the world.'' Further, anyone 
assisting those involved in the abuses described in the legislation 
can, and should, be targeted.
  During Senate debate my colleagues, Senator McCain and Senator 
Wicker, spoke eloquently about the ability to hold human rights abusers 
accountable and in particular cited the cases of Mikhail Khodorkovsky 
and Planton Lebedev--other recognized political prisoners. To quote my 
friend from Arizona discussing the situation in Russia today:

       This culture of impunity in Russia has been growing worse 
     and worse over many years. It has been deepened by the 
     increased surveillance and harassment of members of 
     opposition and civil society groups . . . by the continued 
     violent attacks on brave journalists who dare to publish the 
     truth about official corruption and other state crimes in 
     Russia today . . . and of course, by the continued detention 
     of numerous political prisoners, not least Mikhail 
     Khodorkovsky and his associate Platon Lebedev, who remain 
     locked away but not forgotten.

  The cases of Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev, both jailed because of 
Mr. Putin's sanctioned theft and destruction of the oil company, Yukos 
Oil, headed by Mr. Khodorkovsky, falls squarely within the parameters 
of this legislation.
  Mr. Khodorkovsky, a businessman, was falsely accused of tax evasion 
and jailed in 2003 after engaging in politics and forcing a discussion 
of corruption in Russia. His close friend and business partner, Planton 
Lebedev, was also jailed as part of the theft of Yukos Oil. Both are 
widely considered political prisoners--in 2011 Amnesty International 
declared them political prisoners--and there have been numerous House 
and Senate resolutions that have highlighted Mr. Khodorkovsky's and Mr. 
Lebedev's cases.
  But they are not the only ones. Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev 
remain jailed but at least are still alive. One of the most horrific 
stories in the entire Yukos affair is the case of Vasily Alexanyan. 
While the Kremlin's dismantling of Yukos was well underway after Mr. 
Khodorkovsky's arrest in 2003, Mr. Alexanyan, a Harvard Law School 
graduate and former Yukos general counsel, stepped up in March 2006 to 
assume the position of executive vice president of Yukos. At the time

[[Page S8357]]

the company was being forced through a state-orchestrated bankruptcy 
process. Alexanyan's attempts to protect the company's rights in this 
process ran up against the hostility of government authorities. Mr. 
Alexanyan was jailed on April 6, 2006. He was held in horrible 
conditions during his pretrial detention in a freezing cell and 
subjected to torture. The authorities knew he had HIV and a compromised 
immune system. They attempted to make him give testimony against Mr. 
Khodorkovsky and Mr. Lebedev and others at Yukos in exchange for better 
treatment and medicine. He refused. The European Court of Human Rights 
repeatedly issued interim measures to the Russian authorities 
requesting medical care be provided to Alexanyan. The authorities did 
not comply, leaving Alexanyan without antiretroviral treatment for 
almost 2 years. Because of this state-sponsored torture, he died when 
he was just 39 years old.
  More than 50 criminal cases against Yukos executives, employees, and 
others associated with Khodorkovsky or Yukos have been filed by Russian 
authorities. The strategy of Russian investigators has involved 
investigating or prosecuting business partners, juniors, or even 
bystanders to obtain statements or court rulings that would produce 
``evidence'' and establish the ``facts'' they needed for their trumped 
up charges against Mr. Khodorkovsky and others connected with Yukos.
  There is no question the continuing incarceration of Mr. Khodorkovsky 
and Mr. Lebedev is a human rights abuse. The European Court for Human 
Rights ruled that violations of Mr. Khodorkovsky's fundamental human 
rights did occur in connection with his arrest and detention between 
2003 and 2005--including degrading prison conditions, inhuman and 
degrading conditions in the courtroom throughout his first trial, 
detention unjustified by compelling reasons outweighing the presumption 
of liberty, and unfair hearings reviewing his detention. The court has 
raised similar concerns with Mr. Lebedev.
  Other cases are also clear cut, such as Anna Politkovskaya, the 
renowned journalist and Kremlin critic, who was shot dead while 
entering her apartment building on October 7, 2006. Ms. Politkovskaya 
rose to prominence for her in-depth coverage of the war in Chechnya, 
exposing incidents of state-sponsored torture, mass executions, 
kidnappings, and war crimes. Four individuals initially accused of 
killing Ms. Politkovskaya were found not guilty, and no light has been 
shed on the true architect of her murder. Her case would be captured by 
this legislation if those responsible can be identified.
  Let's not forget that we are demanding Russia abide by the 
international agreements that it has ratified and live up to the 
expectations of the organizations it has joined. The Russian Federation 
is a member of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and 
Co-operation in Europe, and the Council of Europe. It is also a party 
to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 
Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights, the UN Convention against Corruption, and the 
European Convention on Human Rights.
  This legislation is narrowly targeted to hold accountable specific 
persons for the most heinous of crimes and represents a core U.S. 
foreign policy value. It is also consistent with targeted sanctions the 
United States has imposed on other countries with major human rights 
concerns.
  This also strengthens the President's National Security Strategy 
announced last May, PSD-10, by ``closing gaps'' in our legal system so 
our country does not inadvertently become a haven for human rights 
violators. He enumerated grounds for denying admission to the United 
States, and this legislation complements his initiative by providing a 
statutory, legal guidelines for the administration.
  This bill enjoys enormous bipartisan and bicameral support with a 365 
to 43 vote in the House of Representatives and 92 votes in the Senate. 
In short, there is consensus for this bill and an understanding of the 
types of cases that fall within the Magnitsky Act's parameters. In 
Russia, the Magnitsky Act will serve as a deterrent to those engaged in 
oppression and provide a shield to millions of Russian activists 
determined to secure greater human rights and establish the rule of 
law. This bill gives hope to Russian civil society and to echo my 
friend from Arizona's eloquent comment to Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. 
Lebedev that ``they are not forgotten.'' Those in Russia who are 
oppressed, intimidated, or suffering because they are seeking 
democracy, truth and justice should know they are not forgotten and 
your spirit and determination inspire us.
  The fact that certain Russian Government officials have lashed out 
against this law speaks to the powerful tool it can be in support of 
democracy and human rights in Russia. It is not enough to pass this 
law--the United States must now publically hold those accountable for 
persecuting Mr. Khodorkovsky, Mr. Lebedev, and so many others in 
Russia. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the 
administration to do so.

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