UK poll shows ‘huge’ public support for Magnitsky sanctions against Russian officials

Democracy Digest

A new poll reveals overwhelming public support in the UK for sanctions against Russian officials suspected of torture and corruption.

Campaigners have pressed the British government to follow the US precedent by passing a version of the Magnitsky Act, which imposes travel and financial sanctions on officials suspected of human rights violations in Russia and publicly names those culpable in a government listing.

A new YouGov poll commissioned by the Henry Jackson Society think tank shows that the vast majority of the British public would support legislation to refuse visas and freeze the assets of Russian officials believed to be involved in corruption, torture and human rights violations.
Key results of the survey of 1,860 people include:

· Overall, almost three quarters of those polled (72 per cent) said they would support a British Magnitsky Act, compared with just six per cent who would oppose such a measure. This rises to 78 per cent of Conservative voters.

· 72 per cent of people believe corruption in Russia is widespread, with four per cent believing it is not widespread.

· Just 14 per cent of those polled believe the British Government is doing as much as could be reasonably expected to stop money from Russian crime and corruption entering the UK. 46 per cent of Conservative voters and 49 per cent of Labour voters believe the Government should be doing more.

“The UK poll shows that British government should do much more than they have already done to ban corrupt Russian officials and human rights abusers,” said William Browder, Founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and former client of Sergei Magnitsky (above).

The Sergei Magnitsky Act was named for the tax lawyer arrested in 2008 after revealing that Russian officials had orchestrated a tax refund fraud to transfer $230m of state funds to a criminal syndicate. He died in jail after being assaulted and denied medical treatment.

Despite two European Parliament resolutions calling for member states to impose similar visa sanctions and asset freezes on officials involved in Magnitsky’s arrest, torture and death, such a measure has not yet been adopted.

Parliamentarians and campaigners have said the failure to bring about a British law similar to the Magnitsky Act undermines David Cameron’s call at the G8 Summit for a crackdown on tax transparency and has enabled corrupt officials to do business freely and with impunity in the UK.

“We in the West have a responsibility to halt the spread of human rights crimes and corruption in the Russian political system,” said Dr Alan Mendoza, Executive Director of the Henry Jackson Society. “The US has shown the way; all we need do is follow. Failing to do so also undermines our commitment to improve transparency in international business, clean up our own financial systems and clamp down on tax evasion.”

The UK poll follows a similar survey in France, which found 85 per cent of voters would support the introduction of a French Magnitsky Act. In addition, 44 per cent of Russians surveyed in December 2012 supported US and EU sanctions against officials as an effective measure to fight corruption and human rights abuse in their country.

A full background briefing is available here.
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