The law, mirroring the US Senate’s “Magnitsky Act,” was drafted by Parliamentary Speaker Sergei Naryshkin and the leaders of the four Duma parties. It may be put to vote on Friday.

Vladimir Pligin, head of the special committee, said the bill was expected to be signed by the rest of MPs. A consolidated opinion of all party leaders on the document has already been announced, he added.

Russia’s counter-Magnitsky bill gets a name

The Russian parliament has decided to put a name on its bill countering the US Senate’s “Magnitsky Act,” State Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee deputy chair Vyacheslav Nikonov has said.

The legislation will be dubbed the “Dima Yakovlev bill,” after a two-year-old Russian boy who died of a heat stroke after being locked by his American parents in a car in Virginia.

Russian MPs proposed to devote the law to all Russian children who died at the hands of their adoptive American parents.

The ruling United Russia has declared itself the co-authors of the proposed bill, which was introduced to the Russia’s lower house by Speaker Sergei Naryshkin and leaders of the four parliamentary parties.

Russian parliament to pass counter-Magnitsky bill by year-end

Russia’s upper-house Federation Council will approve the bill countering US Senate's so-called “Magnitsky Act” by the end of 2012, after it is passed by the State Duma, Council’s First Depity Speaker Alexander Torshin told reporters Monday.

The upper house is going to meet in full twice this year, on December 19 and 25, he added.

Counter-Magnitsky bill introduced to Russian parliament

State Duma’s Speaker Sergei Naryshkin and chiefs of the four parliamentary factions have introduced to the Russian lower house a draft law countering the US “Magnitsky Act”.

The law blacklists Americans accused of violating the rights of Russian citizens or being invilved in crimes against Russians and bans them from entering Russia, whilst any legal entities, or companies, belonging to these people will see their work in Russia suspended.

The bill is expected to be debated in the lower house later this week, allegedly on Tuesday, and will come into force on January 1, 2013.

Lavrov calls ‘Magnitsky Act’ anti-Russian

Russia’s foreign chief Sergei Lavrov has branded the so-called “Magnitsky Act” as an “anti-Russian escapade” and called for the Russian parliament to respond in kind.

A parliament isn’t here to instruct others, such attempts can only sour foreign relations, he said citing the adoption of the “Magnitsky List” by the US Senate, which he said used cynical pretexts to sanction Russian nationals.

Russia to blacklist American human rights abusers

The Russian parliament is set to debate a draft law that will see visa and economic sanctions imposed on the Americans involved in violating rights of Russian citizens.

According to a source in Russia’s State Duma, the list will include American parents who abused their Russian adoptees. “It will be a completely fresh legislation,” the source told reporters.

The bill, which will punish Americans violating the rights of Russian nationals with economic, visa sanctions and deportations, was brought into the parliament by all its factions following the adoption of the controversial Magnets Act in the US.

On December 6, the US Senate approved the so-called “Magnitsky list,” which outlawed Russians allegedly involved in the death of Sergei Magnitsky.

State Duma’s foreign affairs committee chief Aleksei Pushkov said the majority of MPs backed a strong-handed response to the fresh anti-Russian law.

Anti-Magnitsky bill to be introduced to Russian parliament

A bill mirroring the US Senate’s “Magnitsky Act” will be introduced to the lower chamber of the Russian parliament later on Monday, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov has announced.

Mr. Zyuganov said he expected all factions of the State Duma to back the draft law imposing visa and economic sanctions on American human rights abusers.

The head of the Russian Communist party said the blacklist was still being compiled but added he favoured a “more strong-handed, concrete and weighty” law.

Russia’s upper house to issue statement on Magnitsky List

The Federation Council, which is the upper house of the Russian parliament, will lend its support to the State Duma to compile a bill to counter the US Senate’s “Magnitsky Act,” Federation Council’s Deputy Speaker Svetlana Orlova told reporters Monday.

Ms Orlova said the upper house will share its take on the bill and will probably make a special statement on it. “We aren’t going to be idle,” she added.

Svetlana Orlova called the adoption of the “Magnitsky Act” an “inadequate move” and proposed to put under scrutiny America’s business activities in Russia.

She said the US has always had double standards when it came to Russia. “But those times are gone and America’s relations with Russia should be as open as they’ve never been before,” Orlova said.

Voice of Russia, TASS, RIA, Interfax, Rossiyskaya Gazeta

Russia, World, Russian-US relations, Magnitsky List, Politics