In December, the U.S. government announced the names of those it will penalize under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights and Accountability Act.
Passed in 2016, the law allows the U.S. to seize assets and ban entry to individuals or entities suspected of being responsible for gross human rights violations or corruption. The list includes notable names associated with attacks against journalists, including former Gambia President Yahya Jammeh. What was also notable however, was the lack of a single name from the Middle East despite evidence submitted by dozens of rights organizations. In an article for IFEX, CPJ Impunity Campaign Consultant Elisabeth Witchel looks at the act’s first year of implementation and how human rights groups are seeking to use this new tool against human rights abusers in Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Mexico, and elsewhere.
Read the full article here: