US to levy human-rights sanctions on Russia, China

The US is set to levy fresh sanctions against Russia and China on December 9, actions that include targeting Russia’s deployment of Iranian drones in Ukraine, alleged human-rights abuse by both nations and Beijing’s support of alleged illegal fishing in the Pacific, according to officials familiar with the matter, reported from The Wall Street Journal.

The bulk of the expected sanctions are to be imposed under the Global Magnitsky Act, named after a whistleblower who died in a Moscow jail after accusing officials of corruption. 

The US, by using those powers to sanction high-profile government, military and business officials accused of human-rights abuses and corruption, says it aims to hold them accountable and deter others.

China and Russia have long been the subject of a host of US sanctions, including a US-led Western pressure campaign against Moscow’s war in Ukraine and for Beijing’s treatment of political opposition in Hong Kong. 

The sanctions will freeze any assets the targets have within US jurisdiction, prevent their travel to the US and prohibit business dealings with them. For government and business officials, the actions can complicate their international travel and financing. By cutting companies’ access to the world’s largest markets, the sanctions can roil their operations and, in some cases, force their dissolution.

www.anews.az