British Parliament Questions

Hansard

14 Dec 2011 : Column 772W

Sergei Magnitsky

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has given any consideration to bringing forward proposals similar to the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act proposed in the US Congress. [86072]

Mr Lidington: We are aware of the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, introduced to the U.S Congress in 2011, which if passed, would see sanctions imposed on Russian officials allegedly responsible for the detention, abuse, or death of Sergei Magnitsky.

The Immigration Rules enable us to refuse a visa where, for example, information on an individual’s character, conduct or associations makes entry to the UK undesirable. However, the UK has a long established practice of not commenting routinely on individual visa cases.

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking together with his EU counterparts in response to the death in custody of Sergei Magnitsky. [86073]

Mr Lidington: We have discussed Mr Magnitsky’s arrest, detention and death with a number of our European partners who share our concerns. The EU raised this case during EU-Russia Human Rights Consultations in November.

Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps he has taken in respect of the death in custody of Sergei Magnitsky. [86208]

Mr Lidington: We have repeatedly made clear to the Russian Government our concerns about Mr Magnitsky’s arrest, detention and death, most recently during the Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow in September, where he discussed this case with President Medvedev. The Prime Minister also referred to the Magnitsky case as a high profile human rights concern in Russia during his speech on ‘Foreign Policy in the National Interest’ on 14 November. We will continue to urge the Russian Government to complete a thorough and transparent investigation into this case and bring to justice those responsible for Mr Magnitsky’s death. payday loan срочный займ zp-pdl.com www.zp-pdl.com срочный займ на карту онлайн