U.S. slaps sanctions on Putin ally, four othersJanuary 10, 2017 - 10:56 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The United States on Monday, January 9 blacklisted Alexander Bastrykin, Russia's top investigator and a close aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and four other Russian officials for human rights abuses, Reuters reports. The sanctions, announced by the U.S. Treasury Department, are not tied to U.S. hacking allegations against Russia but to the 2012 U.S. Magnitsky Act for human rights abuses, U.S. officials said. However, the move comes on top of a series of measures taken by the Obama administration in recent weeks to punish Russia for the hacking during the U.S. presidential campaign and for harassment of American diplomats. Bastrykin heads the Russian Investigative Committee, the government body that decides whether to bring criminal charges. Also sanctioned were Gennady Plaksin and Stanislav Gordiyevsky, a state investigator, both tied to Sergei Magnitsky, an anti-corruption lawyer who died in 2009 after a year in a Russian jail. The Magnitsky Act bars Russians believed to have been involved in his death or other severe human rights abuses from entering the United States, and freezes their assets there. Also blacklisted were Andrei Lugovoy, a Russian lawmaker, and Dmitry Kovtun, both leading suspects in the murder of Russian spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. Litvinenko fled Russia for Britain, where he was poisoned after drinking green tea laced with a rare but potent radioactive isotope at a London Hotel. The inquiry found Lugovoy and Kovtun carried out the killing as part of an operation directed by the Russian Federal Security Service. Efforts to extradite both suspects to Britain have failed. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. |