Magnitsky Bill could target Chinese human rights violators, cyber attackers, Putin’s cronies

Human rights abusers, malicious cyber hackers, and individuals and corrupt officials could soon be banned from visiting Australia or investing money in the country. New proposed laws are set to pass federal parliament on Thursday with support from all sides of politics. The legislation is dubbed the Magnitsky Bill in honour of a Russian lawyer investigating a massive fraud case who died in custody after being tortured and denied medical care. It passed the Senate with unanimous support late on Wednesday and is expected to sail through the lower house on Thursday. Similar laws exist in 33 other countries. The new powers would allow Australia to explicitly target Chinese officials involved in detaining minority groups, cronies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, corrupt generals, and some cyber hackers. The Australian government would be able to sanction individuals and entities responsible for “egregious conduct”, including Chinese officials responsible for shocking human rights abuses. Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong told the Senate while the world had seen many advances in human rights, there had equally been “stagnation and deterioration”. “In (some) places, political leaders have sought to manipulate the circumstances of the pandemic to further weaken human rights,” she said. “In (Sergei Magnitsky’s) name, advocates around the world have sought to shed light on those individuals, governments and regimes that use their power to crush dissent and resist accountability, and those who commit gross human rights violations. “Mr Magnitsky is not alone among those who seek to expose abuse and wrongdoings by those in power. As we speak today, Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan is on hunger strike and at risk of dying without the urgent medical requirements she needs. “Ms Zhan was sentenced to four years of prison in December 2020 for social media posts critical of the handling of the early Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan.” Senator Wong also spoke about the military coup in Myanmar earlier this year, which she said was a “direct attack” on the country’s democratic transition. She called out reports that Australia’s Future Fund, which is made up of taxpayers’ funds, had been investing in “joint ventures with the Tatmadaw and Chinese weapons manufacturers dealing in Myanmar”. “Our Future Fund should not be investing in Tatmadaw linked entities, and should not be profiting from the Tatmadaw’s attack on Myanmar’s democracy,” she said. Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said there was bipartisan support for the bill. “As a government we’ve used our existing country-specific autonomous sanctions regimes to those ends, whether that includes human rights violations in Syria or Russian threats to sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Senator Payne said. “Establishing new thematic sanctions (will allow Australia to) deter those responsible for egregious situations of international concern, while minimising impacts on general populations. “Denying the perpetrators and beneficiaries of egregious acts from accessing our economy is essential, and ensure they cannot benefit from the freedoms our democracy and rules based society allows. “This reform will ensure that Australia does not become an isolated, attractive safe haven for such people and entities and their illegal gains.”