Posts Tagged ‘NPR’
U.S.-Russia Relations Continue To Falter With Prosecution Of Dead Man
Russia is prosecuting a dead man, corruption whistle-blower Sergei Magnitsky, in a case that has severely complicated U.S.-Russia relations. Congress passed a bill that will punish anyone involved in the Magnitsky case and other major human rights violators in Russia. The Russian parliament responded by banning adoptions by American families of Russian children. It is against this backdrop that the new Secretary of State John Kerry finds himself searching for ways to reset relations once again.
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Next week, Secretary of State John Kerry sets off on his first official trip. He’ll head to both Europe and the Middle East. He will not be visiting Russia but aides say he might meet his Russian counterparts somewhere on the trip.
They have a lot to talk about, from the crisis in Syria to a dispute over adoptions, as NPR’s Michele Kelemen reports.
MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: There are many signs that U.S./Russian relations are in the tank. One example is playing out in a Russian courtroom, where a dead man is going on trial next month.
NIKOLAI GOROKHOV: (Foreign language spoken)
KELEMEN: This is Nikolai Gorokhov, a lawyer representing the family of Sergei Magnitsky, the corruption whistle-blower who died in a Russian prison three years ago.
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In This Russian Trial, The Defendant Is A Dead Man
The Russian government is about to put a dead man on trial.
Sergei Magnitsky was a tax lawyer for the investment fund Hermitage Capital, at one time the largest foreign investment firm in Russia.
In 2007, Hermitage Capital was seized by the Russian tax police, and through a number of shady maneuvers, they extracted more than $230 million in illegal tax refunds for themselves.
Magnitsky decided to investigate, angering those who had stolen the company. They had him arrested, and he died in prison in 2009.
But the case didn’t die with him — far from it. Now, it seems those who perpetrated the fraud have found it beneficial to reopen his case and bring him to trial, says Elena Panfilova, the director of the human rights organization Transparency International in Russia.
“They need to protect themselves or somebody they know,” she says. “Not maybe necessarily themselves, like physically, but maybe they need to protect their own institution from being blamed for doing something wrong.”
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Bill Could Complicate U.S.-Russia Relations
Republicans and Democrats don’t agree about much on Capitol Hill these days, but there is one bill gaining bipartisan support. It’s legislation that would punish human rights violators in Russia by naming them and denying them visas to the U.S. But the Obama administration is not on board yet. U.S. diplomats worry it could complicate relations at a time when the U.S. needs Russia’s support most.
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Bipartisanship is rare on Capitol Hill these days but one bill is gaining support from both Republicans and Democrats. There’s a problem, though, the Obama administration is leery of it.
As NPR’s Michele Kelemen reports, the bill involves human rights abuses in Russia. And U.S. diplomats are worried it could complicate relations at a time when the U.S. needs Russia’s backing on a range of issues.
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For U.S. And Russia, Distrust Still Runs High
NPR
President Obama’s policy of engagement with Russia has paid off in several concrete achievements, including a nuclear arms control agreement and greater cooperation on Iran and Afghanistan.
But both supporters and critics of the so-called reset policy worry that further victories will be harder to win. Both nations are distracted by presidential politics, preventing policymakers from talking seriously about matters such as missile defense.
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Russian Opposition Leader Urges Western Sanctions
A prominent Russian opposition leader urged the West on Monday to refuse entry to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his top lieutenants in reaction to what he described as repression of dissent.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov spoke after spending 15 days in jail over what he called fabricated charges following an anti-government rally. His Dec. 31 arrest drew outrage in the West and prompted Amnesty International to call him a prisoner of conscience.
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