Russia Bans 12 US Citizens Over Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib Scandals

July 21, 2014

The entrance to Camp 1 in Guantanamo Bay's Camp Delta.

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Friday blacklisted 12 Americans connected to scandals at U.S. detention centers Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and Abu Ghraib in Iraq, in response to the United States' recent sanctions against Russian citizens.

Guantanamo Bay commander Rear Admiral Richard W. Butler, federal judge Gladys Kessler and Abu Ghraib commander Janis Karpinski are among those who have been banned from entering Russia.

The ban mostly affects Americans involved in the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, including Ricardo Sanchez, Steven Jordan, Ivan Frederik, Javal Davis, Charles Graner, Sabrina Harman, Jeremy Sivits, Lynndie England and Israel Rivera.

This new measure comes as a direct response to the United States in May adding 12 Russians to the so-called Magnitsky List, which imposes a visa ban and financial restrictions on individuals deemed responsible for the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who had been investigating corruption among top Russian officials before dying in a Moscow prison in 2009.

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