Clement: Time to use Magnitsky Act
OTTAWA — Conservative justice critic Tony Clement says Canada should invoke the new Magnitsky Act to sanction those responsible for the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Clement says Saudi Arabia has already identified some individuals who were partially responsible for Khashoggi’s death, adding that the Magnitsky law is a next step the government should consider.
“This may be a prime case for applying the Magnitsky law,” Clement told reporters Monday morning.
Canada passed a law last year called the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, known as the Magnitsky Act, which gives the government the authority to freeze Canadian assets of foreign individuals who are found to have violated human rights.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland condemned the murder of Khashoggi on Monday, saying the various Saudi explanations for his death lacked credibility and consistency.
She said she has spoken with her counterparts from Germany and Turkey in recent days, and is actively engaged with Canada’s allies in a crafting a joint response.
“We are working together to press for a transparent and credible investigation and we are very clear that there must be an accounting for this murder; those responsible must be brought to justice and must face the consequences,” Freeland told reporters Monday in Ottawa.
Clement acknowledged Freeland’s position, which also came in a written statement on Saturday, and said the government needs to do its “diligence on this.”
“If you want a next step that has been sanctioned by Parliament, our Parliament, the Magnitsky law ... could be something that should be looked at,” Clement said.