Dear Fellow Marylanders,
This week, I had the opportunity on the floor of the United States Senate to honor the legacy of a man named Sergei Magnitsky who was killed 15 years ago this month. I did not know Sergei personally, but his actions altered the path of my career and continue to change the world around us.
Working as a tax attorney in Moscow, he uncovered a scheme that included the theft of $230 million of taxes by corrupt Russian officials. He not only filed criminal complaints against the Russian police officers involved but he testified against them. He named names. He did what any lawyer, any responsible citizen should do. He believed that individuals should be held accountable for their corrupt actions.
In response, they arrested Sergei. They held him in custody for 358 days. They refused visits from his wife and mother and telephone calls with his children. They denied him medical care. They tortured him, trying to get him to recant his testimony.
Most people would have given in, but Sergei refused, so they beat him to death.
I want to read from what his colleagues wrote about him in memorial.
They said that Sergei “…wasn’t involved in politics. He wasn’t an oligarch and he wasn’t a human rights activist. He was just a highly competent professional…The kind of person who you could call up as the workday was finishing at 7pm with a legal question and he would cancel his dinner plans and stay in he office until midnight to figure out the answer. He was what many people would describe as the good face of modern Russia: a smart and honest man working hard to better himself and to make a good life for his family.”
When I talk about values in foreign policy, I think about the values of Sergei Magnitsky.
America’s strength is in our values: human rights, anti-corruption and support for democratic institutions. This compares to autocratic regimes that have a foreign policy based on transactional goals that they enforce often by corruption and force. We see that today with Mr. Putin in Russia as he tries to take over Ukraine.
I believe, one of the keys to fighting back against these forces starts with holding the perpetrators of human rights violations accountable.
Looking around the world today, we see war in Europe and the Middle East and Africa. We see a growing autocracy and kleptocracy across states like Russia and China. A rise of anti-democratic sentiment in traditional bastions of liberty.
If we hold the perpetrators accountable, others will not follow in that path. This idea has informed how I think about policy and two pieces of legislation I am proud of writing in my time in the United States Congress: the 2012 Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act and the 2016 Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
At the time of Sergei Magnitsky’s killing, our main policy tool for punishing human rights abuses and corruption was country-based sanctions. This is a blunt tool—useful to respond to major events, like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or Iran’s enrichment of uranium to nuclear weapons grade – but it is less effective to provide accountability for human rights violations. Individuals are perpetrating these abuses. We needed something more responsive, more targeted.
Inspired by the tragedy of Sergei Magnitsky’s murder, I set out to write legislation to hold his murderers accountable. I did not know at the time the profound impact the bill would have for human rights and accountability.
The original bill targeted the individuals who were complicit in the jailing and murder of Sergei Magnitsky. It blocked these individuals from enjoying the benefits of America. It stopped them from traveling to the U.S. It stopped them from using our banking system. It gave the U.S. government the authority to seize this property.
Magnitsky-style sanctions seem like a forgone conclusion today, but not when we got it enacted. Although they passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support, it was not an easy fight.
One of the ways we got this done is because it was bipartisan and I am grateful for Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the late Senator John McCain (R-Ariz), as well as my good friend, and the leader with me on the Helsinki Commission, Senator Roger Wicker who helped in this effort.
I’ve seen a lot in 58 years of public service, much of which I have devoted to human rights advocacy. I remain inspired by the heroism of Sergei and can confidently say that he did not die in vain. His death jarred the global conscience forever and today, Magnitsky sanctions strike fear in the hearts of Vladimir Putin and corrupt oligarchs around him.
In 2023, the U.S. sanctioned 78 foreign persons under the Magnitsky sanctions program. As of November 7th this year, the program has sanctioned over 712 foreign persons and entities since its inception. And the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and others have replicated the Magnitsky system. These targeted human rights sanctions are now a major part of our rules-based international order.
Whether government officials or responsible citizens, we have an obligation to advance policies that respect human rights, freedom and the dignity of the individual. That is especially true of those of us who live in democracies. At times our task may seem difficult or impossible but we must never give up hope.
Thank you for your time. Please feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts on this or any other topic. As my tenure in the United States Senate winds down, I cherish every opportunity to hear from Marylanders.
In solidarity,
Ben Cardin
(If you would like to watch the full floor statement, please use this YouTube link.)
