Support The Moscow Times!

Norway Has No Plans for Magnitsky Sanctions

Norway has reiterated its concern about an investigation into the 2009 prison death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky but said it has no plans to impose any sanctions.

"Norway has no tradition of introducing unilateral actions against individual countries or persons. This policy remains also in the Magnitsky case," the Norwegian Embassy in Moscow said in a statement.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, writing about Magnitsky in a letter to a group of the country's lawmakers earlier this month, said Olso was following the case closely but its policy was to only accept sanctions reached by the UN Security Council.

In response to Magnitsky's death, the U.S. has passed the Magnitsky Act that blacklists Russian officials implicated of human rights violations. Magnitsky's supporters have been pushing other countries to adopt similar sanctions.

Norway's foreign minister said that while Oslo would stop short of imposing sanctions, it would use its membership in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe to raise the human rights agenda in Russia.

The embassy said Oslo also has shared its concerns repeatedly with Russian officials.

"The Norwegian government remains concerned over the manner in which the Russian authorities have handled the follow-up to Mr. Magnitsky's death in custody and over the post-mortem trial against Mr. Magnitsky," the embassy statement said. "We have raised our concerns with Russian authorities on numerous occasions, both bilaterally and multilaterally."

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more