US imposes sanctions over Russia rights abuses

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Russians over abuses including the killing of a prominent opposition leader, days after top-level talks seemed to ease tensions between the two powers.The State Department highlighted the actions against the five people, plus one legal entity, as it submitted an annual report required by Congress on actions taken under a law on human rights in Russia.The law, which blocks any US assets of blacklisted people and bars them from travelling to the United States, is named after Sergei Magnitsky, an anti-corruption accountant who died in Russian custody in 2009.Among the five newly blacklisted figures are Ruslan Geremeyev, an interior ministry official in the restive North Caucasus region of Chechnya who is close to its leader Ramzan Kadyrov.The United States also slapped sanctions on two Russian investigators, Elena Anatolievna Trikulya and Gennady Vyacheslavovich Karlov, for allegedly concealing facts over the detention and death of Magnitsky. The Kremlin on Friday promised reciprocal measures “in one way or another”.The Russian embassy in Washington earlier said the “unconstructive” US decisions “run counter to a positive outlook of the recent Russia-US talks in Sochi”.Also hit with sanctions were the Terek Special Rapid Response Team in Chechnya and its commander, Abuzayed Vismuradov.The Treasury Department said that the force had engaged in extrajudicial killings and torture, including a crackdown on gay men that has drawn international condemnation.

from The News International - World http://bit.ly/2VsWhM5