EU deputies considering Magnitsky sanctions for Ukraine

European Union (EU) leaders are considering imposing sanctions on Ukrainian leaders similar to the Magnitsky list, which consists of Russian officials implicated in the death of Sergei Magnitsky, said EU Parliamentary Deputy Rebecca Harms, as reported by Deutsche Welle on Nov. 17. Among those considering them is the European Parliament’s largest faction, the European People’s Party. Elmar Brok, among its deputies, told Deutsche Welle that any legislation relaxing visa restrictions for Ukrainian citizens must take into account those responsible for “selective justice,” a term commonly used to describe the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Internal Affairs Minister Yuriy Lutsenko. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Magnitsky sanctions on Nov. 16 this year in honor of Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in prison on Nov. 16, 2009. He was imprisoned after exposing government corruption, rights advocates allege.