US to levy human rights sanctions on Russia, China

The US is set to levy fresh sanctions against Russia and China on December 9, actions that include targeting Russia’s deployment of Iranian drones in Ukraine, alleged human-rights abuse by both nations and Beijing’s support of alleged illegal fishing in the Pacific, according to officials familiar with the matter.

The bulk of the expected sanctions are to be imposed under the Global Magnitsky Act, named after a whistleblower who died in a Moscow jail after accusing officials of corruption. The US, by using those powers to sanction high-profile government, military and business officials accused of human rights abuses and corruption, says it aims to hold them accountable and deter others, The Wall Street Journal reports.

China and Russia have long been the subject of a host of US sanctions, including a US-led Western pressure campaign against Moscow’s war in Ukraine and for Beijing’s treatment of political opposition in Hong Kong.

The sanctions will freeze any assets the targets have within US jurisdiction, prevent their travel to the US and prohibit business dealings with them. For government and business officials, the actions can complicate their international travel and financing. By cutting companies’ access to the world’s largest markets, the sanctions can roil their operations and in some cases force their dissolution.

China’s and Russia’s embassies in Washington didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, but their officials in the past have repudiated US sanctions against their governments as provocations, meddling in sovereign affairs and legal overreach by the US.

Among the targets include officials allegedly responsible for Russia’s filtration camps for Ukrainians caught behind the front, where groups such as Human Rights Watch have alleged the military has tortured citizens and committed other war crimes.

Separately from the Magnitsky sanctions, the administration also plans to hit several Russia defence industry entities tied to the transfer of Iranian military drones Moscow has been using to deadly effect in attacking Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, according to the officials.