YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. US Congressmen Chris Smith and Jim McGovern presented a bill in the House of Representatives on sanctioning Azerbaijani high-level officials.

The bill is available on the website of Congressman Chris Smith.

“The Azerbaijani regime continues to use torture, politically-motivated criminal charges, harassment, international kidnapping and other forms of intimidation to silence human rights defenders, independent journalists and religious leaders,” said Smith, who chairs the House panel on global human rights. “It is evident that there are important security and economic ties between our countries, however these violations cannot be ignored.”

The bill calls on the United States Government to prioritize the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people in Azerbaijan when dealing with their government and urges the application of provisions of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (P.L. 114-328) to punish Azerbaijani officials who violate internationally recognized human rights. Further, the legislation calls on the government of Azerbaijan to immediately release all political prisoners and prisoner of conscience and to cease targeting those who advocate for government based on accountability and democratic values.

“The Global Magnitsky Act has paved the way for a new era of U.S. leadership in defending universal human rights. The U.S. must use this toolkit, consisting of visa bans and asset freezes, to punish the perpetrators of human rights abuses. These penalties would shatter the impunity that rights violators in the government of Azerbaijan enjoy.”