Outgoing Kosovo Govt Adopts Magnitsky Act

The outgoing government of Kosovo on Wednesday adopted the Magnitsky Act, designed to penalise egregious human rights abusers.

Outgoing Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli announced the establishment of the act on Twitter, shortly after outgoing PM Ramush Haradinaj declared it during a government meeting.

"I'm proud today that the government of Kosovo has established the Kosovo Magnitsky Act, sanctioning foreign government officials implicated in human rights abuses anywhere in the world," Pacolli wrote.

His adviser, Jetlir Zyberaj, told BIRN before the government meeting that it was an important step in aligning Kosovo's foreign policy with that of its Western partners.

"Kosovo is joining the United States, European countries and Canada in adopting the Magnitsky Act, which is an important step in aligning Kosovo's foreign policy with our Western partners and taking a stand in support of liberal values," he said.

The act, formally known as the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, was firstly signed into US law by former US President Barack Obama in December 2012.

It banned 18 Russian government officials and businessmen from entering the US and using the banking system. Their assets were frozen as well. Later, in 2016, the law was expanded to apply to more than 40 alleged violators of human rights across the world.

The law is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer and auditor who died in a Russian prison after being held in inhumane conditions. In 2008, Magnitsky had untangled a dense web of tax fraud and graft involving 23 companies and a total of $230 million linked to individuals close to the Russian government.

The act was initiated by Bill Browder, an American hedge fund manager, who had been...