Armenia Joins EU's 'Magnitsky' List

Armenia has joined the Council of the European Union's decision on the Common Foreign and Security Policy, which imposes sanctions on officials, individuals, and organizations responsible for mass human rights violations. This decision is commonly referred to as the 'Magnitsky List.'

The Council has also extended the existing restrictive measures for another twelve months, until December 8, 2024, and amended the list of individuals and organizations subject to these restrictions.

Candidate countries for EU membership, including North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as members of the European Economic Area such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, along with Armenia and Azerbaijan, have also joined this decision. They will ensure that national policies correspond with the council's resolution. The European Union acknowledges and welcomes this commitment.

Notably, Georgia is absent from the published list. According to the sanctions list, individuals subject to restrictions include Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, leaders of the Wagner Group, the Syrian National Guard, and other individuals.

It is worth noting that the U.S. Department of State has urged for continued tightening of sanctions against Russia on human rights issues in memory of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Russian prison eight years ago on November 16, 2009. Hermitage Capital had claimed that the Russian officials involved in the multi-million dollar fraud he exposed were behind Magnitsky's death.