Despite heavy pressuring by the Russian Duma and other officials, European Parliament today called on the Council, in the absence of positive movements from the Russian authorities to cooperate and investigate the case of Sergei Magnitsky and bring those responsible to justice, to consider imposing an EU entry ban for Russian officials involved in this case and encouraged EU law enforcement agencies to cooperate in freezing bank accounts and other assets of these Russian officials in all EU Member States.[:]

“With this vote the European Parliament is calling for justice for an innocent man who died in prison. This death was one too many. There comes a point when silence is no longer an option. While there was an attempt by the Russian officials to portray this proposal as anti-Russian, we have been moved by the vast support we have received from inside Russia,” Chairwoman of European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights, Heidi Hautala, said.

‘Human rights violations can not be met with impunity. For EU-Russia relations to develop constructively, the rule of law must be upheld and the state has to investigate crimes and prosecute those who are responsible.’ Schaake said.

“It is our wish that none of these sanctions will ever have to be put in place. Instead, we hope to receive the news without delay that effective investigations into the death of Sergey Magnitsky have finally commenced and commitment that those responsible will be brought to justice,” Hautala and Schaake added.