U.S. applies human-rights law, adds 5 Russians to sanctions list

WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five Russians, including the leader of Chechnya, under a U.S. human-rights law that has been a major irritant between Washington and Moscow.

The five Russians were targeted under the Magnitsky Act, passed by Congress in 2012 in response to the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. He died in prison after exposing a tax-fraud scheme involving Russian officials, and the law named after him allows the U.S. to target violators of human rights. All told, the U.S. has targeted 49 Russians under that law.

The latest additions include Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, a predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia. The Treasury Department said Kadyrov oversaw “disappearances and extrajudicial killings” and that he’s believed to have ordered the killing of one of his political rivals. The rival had accused Kadyrov of personally carrying out torture.

The Treasury Department also said it was targeting a Chechen law enforcement official, Ayub Kataev, for alleged involvement in abuses this year against gay men. The United Nations and human-rights groups have decried reports that men suspected of homosexuality have been rounded up and tortured in Chechnya and in some instances killed.

A spokesman for Kadyrov denied the reports and insisted there were no gay people in Chechnya.

The other three Russians being targeted are accused of being involved in the criminal conspiracy in Russia that Magnitsky exposed.

The sanctions law became a sore point between the U.S. and Russia after it was signed into law by former President Barack Obama. Shortly after, Putin signed a law banning American citizens from adopting Russian children, in a move widely viewed as retaliation.

The sanctions freeze any assets the individuals may have in the United States, and also bar Americans from doing any business with them.

In 2016, the Magnitsky Act was expanded to allow the U.S. to target human-rights abusers anywhere, not just in Russia. President Donald Trump’s administration is expected to target additional individuals under that law in coming days.