On April 30 Pavel Khodorkovsky addressed politics students at Columbia University in New York in a debate on US–Russia relations. Pavel discussed Russia’s response to the Magnitsky Act, and the resulting list which at present contains the names of eighteen Russian officials who are now subject to US visa and economic sanctions as a result of their role in violating human rights.

Sixteen of the names are directly connected to the case of Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyer who was beaten, denied medical treatment and killed at a detention facility in Moscow in 2009, after he exposed a massive fraud by Russian officials. Those named include the former head of the “Butirka” detention facility, Dmitry Komnov, two Russian Judges, Alexey Krivoruchko and Yelena Stashina, the head of the “Matrosskaya Tishina” detention facility, Ivan Prokopenko, an investigator, Oleg Silchenko, and the former Chair of the Moscow Tax Inspectorate, Olga Stepanova.

The Russian Government responded to the List with its own “Guantanamo list” that includes the names of US officials accused of human rights violations by Russia in relation to Guantanamo Bay. In addition, the Russian Duma introduced the Dima Yakovlev Law, an adoption ban that prevents US citizens from adopting Russian orphans.

Pavel Khodorkovsky noted that such a response is asymmetrical and expressed concern about the repercussions further afield: “Russia will use a variety of methods that could be regarded as blackmail, if measures such as the Magnitsky Act will be considered in the European Parliament, which is very worrying”.

Another participant in the discussion, the renowned political scientist and US–Russia relations expert, Stephen Sestanovich commented on Russia’s criticism of the Magnitsky List, saying: “By taking on the Magnitsky Act, Congress wanted to say that it is wrong when Russian criminals do not go to court. This is characteristic of Putin’s regime. The US did not interfere in Russia’s internal politics. They wanted to say that they just do not believe the Putin’s regime is fully legitimate”.

Read the full article (in Russian) on The Voice of America website