Treasury Lists Russians Facing Sanctions on Human Rights

The Obama administration released a list of 18 Russians who will be subject to financial sanctions and banned from entering the U.S. for playing a role in human rights abuses, prompting Russia to impose its own ban.

The Treasury Department acted yesterday under a law passed last year known as the Magnitsky Act, named for a Russian lawyer who accused police officials of stealing $230 million from the national treasury. Supporters of Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested on tax evasion charges and died in jail in 2009, say he was tortured and denied medical treatment.