After several long years of spirited debate and strong calls upon U.S. legislators to take action against human rights abuses in Russia, the Sergei Magnitsky / Rule of Law Act is advancing to the floor of the Senate this week for a vote following its adoption by the House last month.

The new law, which will grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to Russia as it officially joins the World Trade Organization, will aim to impose sanctions on individual government officials accused on human rights violations.

The announcement was made on late Tuesday afternoon by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  Sen. Cardin issued the following statement regarding his legislation:

“I am pleased that the Senate finally will be voting on passage of the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act. In the memory of one courageous Russian, we are setting a precedent for future trade agreements that tells the world that gross violators of human rights cannot escape the consequences of their actions even when their home country fails to act. Visiting the United States and having access to our financial system, including U.S. dollars, are privileges that should not be extended to those who violate basic human rights and the rule of law,” Cardin said.

He continued, “This bill may only apply to Russia, but it sets a standard that should be applied globally. I encourage other nations to follow our lead. I will continue to work with my bipartisan cosponsors towards passage of the Magnitsky sanctions for other countries so that human rights violators in all corners of the world understand that the United States is still committed to the universal cause of liberty and human dignity for those who stand up against oppression.”

Debate on the trade bill was expected to begin on the Senate floor Wednesday morning, and some observers predict that the law could pass as soon as Friday, given the strong bipartisan support the bill received in Congress.

While the House version of the bill barred Russian human rights violators from receiving visas and froze their U.S.-based financial assets, the Senate version applies the measure more broadly, including to members of the Russian government involved in the persecution of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and even beyond Russia.

The human rights provision is named for Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer and whistle-blower who died in a Russian prison three years ago after allegedly being tortured.  The trade bill also eliminates the outdated 1974 Jackson-Vanik Amendment, which has long been a thorn in the side of U.S.-Russia relations.

To read more on this story, please see this coverage by the Associated Press