Latest news with #Magnitsky
West Australian
12-06-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Opposition leader Sussan Ley accuses Penny Wong of overstepping in ‘unprecedented' Israeli minister sanctions
Opposition leader Sussan Ley has accused the Albanese Government of overstepping by slapping 'unprecedented' sanctions on two Israeli Government ministers. She accused Penny Wong of acting 'unilaterally' in imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions on National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The Albanese Government joined the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway to sanction the pair, accusing them of 'inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank'. 'It is unprecedented to, as a government, take actions, sanctions on members of a democratically elected government. It appears that Penny Wong acted unilaterally on this,' Ms Ley told Sky New on Thursday. 'The Magnitsky sanctions were never designed to be used in this way, but to take action against terrorist regimes and bad actors.' The Magnitsky legislation allows governments to impose targeted sanctions, such as asset freezes and travel bans, on foreign individuals responsible for serious human rights abuses or corruption. Australia has only selectively deployed the sanctions, mostly on Russian individuals, since they first came into effect in December 2021 with the first set handed down in March 2022. The Foreign Minister and Labor colleagues have defended the measure, with Ms Wong saying the duo had 'extremist rhetoric' including 'appalling and dangerous' calls for the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements. Former Labor defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon also openly labelled them 'extremists.' However when asked whether the Government had 'overstepped the mark', Ms Ley bluntly responded: 'Yes we do. Yes we do'. Ms Ley's criticism of the collective move was echoed by her Coalition team on Thursday, with many calling for a briefing on the decision which they warned could have broader implications. 'We want to understand more deeply the rationale behind the government's decision making,' Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie said on Thursday. 'I think these sanctions do go against the intent of the Magnitsky sanction regime.' Opposition legal affairs spokesman Julian Leeser has warned if the standard for triggering Magnitsky sanctions had been weakened it could impact Australia's standing abroad. 'This is a very serious step. When you read the government's statement, it suggests that it's actually lowered the threshold for applying sanctions,' he told the ABC on Thursday. 'Because these sanctions are being applied because of public comments of the two Israeli ministers and the big question here is whether this is a new standard that will be applied to the public comments of officials from other countries.' Shadow foreign minister Michaelia Cash called the sanctions a 'very serious development' and said they should meet 'a very high threshold.' While backing the sanctions and defending them as 'carefully considered', Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said he hoped Australia and Israel would 'continue our friendship'. 'I mean we want to continue our friendship with Israel, let me be clear about that,' he said. 'We've worked very carefully in relation to taking this step over a period of time. 'We've done this in combination with the United Kingdom in combination with Canada and with other nations.' His shadow counterpart Angus Taylor went as far to question whether Ms Wong's call teamed with Labor's refusal to lift the defence budget after US pressure had prompted the Trump Administration to review the AUKUS partnership. But Marles hit back at his 'breathless press conference' and said the Coalition needed to 'take a breath' on the AUKUS probe which he downplayed as a 'natural' decision of any new government. Former Liberal politician and ex-US ambassador Arthur Sinodinos also rejected any link, noting Marles had publicly said he'd been aware a review was coming for weeks. Both sides of politics have said ultimately they wanted to see a ceasefire and long-term end to the Gaza conflict.
The Advertiser
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
'Don't agree': Former Labor MP who pushed for sanction powers speaks out against Albanese's Israel move
A former Labor MP who spent years advocating for laws giving Australia the power to sanction foreign actors for international law breaches has spoken out against the Albanese government's decision to join four other countries in using them against two Israeli ministers. Michael Danby, who served as the member for Melbourne Ports (now Macnamara) for 20 years before retiring from politics in 2019, was a key architect - along with the late Victorian Labor senator Kimberley Kitching - of Australia's Magnitsky-style sanctions legislation passed in 2022, which enables travel bans to be imposed and assets frozen without warning. He took aim at Foreign Minister Penny Wong for sanctioning Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich overnight, telling The Canberra Times this was not the way the law was designed to be used. "I don't agree with [the decision]," Mr Danby, who is Jewish and has long been a vocal supporter of Israel, said. "Magnitsky sanctions were only meant to be focused on authoritarian states - not democratic states like Israel, where elections or the rule of law can deal with violations by individuals, including local politicians. "Foreign Minister Wong's action against a democratic state throws into sharp relief her failure to employ Magnitsky laws against big fish from authoritarian states - like Beijing's cruel communist commissars in Tibet and East Turkestan ... Whose children often try and get educated here, who like to come on holidays to the Gold Coast here." Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told Seven's Sunrise on Wednesday morning that the decision to sanction the two ministers over their expansion of illegal settlement in the West Bank had been made "after a long process of deliberation and consideration". "We're doing that because we are all deeply concerned about the extremist settler enterprise of the Netanyahu government," she said. "We're concerned about it because it is undermining the prospects of two states. And ultimately, we, along with those other countries and the broader international community, believe we can only see peace in the Middle East when we deal with two states and when both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security." It is believed to be the first time Magnitsky laws, which are in force across many Western countries, have been used against individuals from democratic countries. Australia has previously using the laws to sanction individuals and entities in Russia, Iran, and Myanmar. Mr Danby said he agreed with criticism from United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the move did "not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire" in the Hamas-Israel war. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected this criticism on Wednesday, telling ABC radio: "I think those responses are predictable, frankly." Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said in a statement: "The sanctioning of democratically elected officials of a key ally, Israel, is a very serious development." "The Magnitsky sanctions regime was designed to respond to serious matters of international concern, such as human rights abuses and terrorist acts," Ms Ley said. "The government must explain, in full, why it is being applied in these circumstances ... We have not received a briefing about this matter but would expect there to be a very high threshold for this decision." She called on the government to "explain why they have seemingly lowered the threshold for imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions, and whether this new approach will be applied to comments made by officials from other countries." "This may have serious implications for our international relationships," Ms Ley said. She said the government's explanatory materials "make clear that Minister Wong exercised a discretionary power to impose the sanctions because of public comments made by the two Israeli Ministers, which "appears to be a new development in our foreign policy." "We are concerned that there is a pattern of decisions by the Albanese government targeting the Israeli government, rather than Hamas, including the decision to block the Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister from travelling to Australia." Mr Albanese told the ABC his government continued to "engage with the Israeli government", while standing firm on the decision, saying the two Israeli ministers had "incited violence against Palestinians in the West Bank". He said the Israeli government needed to "uphold its obligations under international law", saying that "expansionist rhetoric ... from these hardline right-wing members of the Netanyahu government" contradicted this. Senator Wong would not be drawn on whether sanctions against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself had been considered when Australia joined Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom in sanctioning the Israeli ministers. She said only that while the two ministers were "not the only members of the Israeli government whose actions have been problematic, they are certainly the most extreme." As to other matters, we don't speculate about the approach," Senator Wong told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday morning. The Israeli ministers are accused of inciting and supporting systemic violence against Palestinians and aggressively expanding illegal Israeli settlements. They will face travel bans and have any Australian assets frozen under laws. A former Labor MP who spent years advocating for laws giving Australia the power to sanction foreign actors for international law breaches has spoken out against the Albanese government's decision to join four other countries in using them against two Israeli ministers. Michael Danby, who served as the member for Melbourne Ports (now Macnamara) for 20 years before retiring from politics in 2019, was a key architect - along with the late Victorian Labor senator Kimberley Kitching - of Australia's Magnitsky-style sanctions legislation passed in 2022, which enables travel bans to be imposed and assets frozen without warning. He took aim at Foreign Minister Penny Wong for sanctioning Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich overnight, telling The Canberra Times this was not the way the law was designed to be used. "I don't agree with [the decision]," Mr Danby, who is Jewish and has long been a vocal supporter of Israel, said. "Magnitsky sanctions were only meant to be focused on authoritarian states - not democratic states like Israel, where elections or the rule of law can deal with violations by individuals, including local politicians. "Foreign Minister Wong's action against a democratic state throws into sharp relief her failure to employ Magnitsky laws against big fish from authoritarian states - like Beijing's cruel communist commissars in Tibet and East Turkestan ... Whose children often try and get educated here, who like to come on holidays to the Gold Coast here." Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told Seven's Sunrise on Wednesday morning that the decision to sanction the two ministers over their expansion of illegal settlement in the West Bank had been made "after a long process of deliberation and consideration". "We're doing that because we are all deeply concerned about the extremist settler enterprise of the Netanyahu government," she said. "We're concerned about it because it is undermining the prospects of two states. And ultimately, we, along with those other countries and the broader international community, believe we can only see peace in the Middle East when we deal with two states and when both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security." It is believed to be the first time Magnitsky laws, which are in force across many Western countries, have been used against individuals from democratic countries. Australia has previously using the laws to sanction individuals and entities in Russia, Iran, and Myanmar. Mr Danby said he agreed with criticism from United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the move did "not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire" in the Hamas-Israel war. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected this criticism on Wednesday, telling ABC radio: "I think those responses are predictable, frankly." Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said in a statement: "The sanctioning of democratically elected officials of a key ally, Israel, is a very serious development." "The Magnitsky sanctions regime was designed to respond to serious matters of international concern, such as human rights abuses and terrorist acts," Ms Ley said. "The government must explain, in full, why it is being applied in these circumstances ... We have not received a briefing about this matter but would expect there to be a very high threshold for this decision." She called on the government to "explain why they have seemingly lowered the threshold for imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions, and whether this new approach will be applied to comments made by officials from other countries." "This may have serious implications for our international relationships," Ms Ley said. She said the government's explanatory materials "make clear that Minister Wong exercised a discretionary power to impose the sanctions because of public comments made by the two Israeli Ministers, which "appears to be a new development in our foreign policy." "We are concerned that there is a pattern of decisions by the Albanese government targeting the Israeli government, rather than Hamas, including the decision to block the Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister from travelling to Australia." Mr Albanese told the ABC his government continued to "engage with the Israeli government", while standing firm on the decision, saying the two Israeli ministers had "incited violence against Palestinians in the West Bank". He said the Israeli government needed to "uphold its obligations under international law", saying that "expansionist rhetoric ... from these hardline right-wing members of the Netanyahu government" contradicted this. Senator Wong would not be drawn on whether sanctions against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself had been considered when Australia joined Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom in sanctioning the Israeli ministers. She said only that while the two ministers were "not the only members of the Israeli government whose actions have been problematic, they are certainly the most extreme." As to other matters, we don't speculate about the approach," Senator Wong told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday morning. The Israeli ministers are accused of inciting and supporting systemic violence against Palestinians and aggressively expanding illegal Israeli settlements. They will face travel bans and have any Australian assets frozen under laws. A former Labor MP who spent years advocating for laws giving Australia the power to sanction foreign actors for international law breaches has spoken out against the Albanese government's decision to join four other countries in using them against two Israeli ministers. Michael Danby, who served as the member for Melbourne Ports (now Macnamara) for 20 years before retiring from politics in 2019, was a key architect - along with the late Victorian Labor senator Kimberley Kitching - of Australia's Magnitsky-style sanctions legislation passed in 2022, which enables travel bans to be imposed and assets frozen without warning. He took aim at Foreign Minister Penny Wong for sanctioning Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich overnight, telling The Canberra Times this was not the way the law was designed to be used. "I don't agree with [the decision]," Mr Danby, who is Jewish and has long been a vocal supporter of Israel, said. "Magnitsky sanctions were only meant to be focused on authoritarian states - not democratic states like Israel, where elections or the rule of law can deal with violations by individuals, including local politicians. "Foreign Minister Wong's action against a democratic state throws into sharp relief her failure to employ Magnitsky laws against big fish from authoritarian states - like Beijing's cruel communist commissars in Tibet and East Turkestan ... Whose children often try and get educated here, who like to come on holidays to the Gold Coast here." Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told Seven's Sunrise on Wednesday morning that the decision to sanction the two ministers over their expansion of illegal settlement in the West Bank had been made "after a long process of deliberation and consideration". "We're doing that because we are all deeply concerned about the extremist settler enterprise of the Netanyahu government," she said. "We're concerned about it because it is undermining the prospects of two states. And ultimately, we, along with those other countries and the broader international community, believe we can only see peace in the Middle East when we deal with two states and when both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security." It is believed to be the first time Magnitsky laws, which are in force across many Western countries, have been used against individuals from democratic countries. Australia has previously using the laws to sanction individuals and entities in Russia, Iran, and Myanmar. Mr Danby said he agreed with criticism from United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the move did "not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire" in the Hamas-Israel war. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected this criticism on Wednesday, telling ABC radio: "I think those responses are predictable, frankly." Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said in a statement: "The sanctioning of democratically elected officials of a key ally, Israel, is a very serious development." "The Magnitsky sanctions regime was designed to respond to serious matters of international concern, such as human rights abuses and terrorist acts," Ms Ley said. "The government must explain, in full, why it is being applied in these circumstances ... We have not received a briefing about this matter but would expect there to be a very high threshold for this decision." She called on the government to "explain why they have seemingly lowered the threshold for imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions, and whether this new approach will be applied to comments made by officials from other countries." "This may have serious implications for our international relationships," Ms Ley said. She said the government's explanatory materials "make clear that Minister Wong exercised a discretionary power to impose the sanctions because of public comments made by the two Israeli Ministers, which "appears to be a new development in our foreign policy." "We are concerned that there is a pattern of decisions by the Albanese government targeting the Israeli government, rather than Hamas, including the decision to block the Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister from travelling to Australia." Mr Albanese told the ABC his government continued to "engage with the Israeli government", while standing firm on the decision, saying the two Israeli ministers had "incited violence against Palestinians in the West Bank". He said the Israeli government needed to "uphold its obligations under international law", saying that "expansionist rhetoric ... from these hardline right-wing members of the Netanyahu government" contradicted this. Senator Wong would not be drawn on whether sanctions against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself had been considered when Australia joined Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom in sanctioning the Israeli ministers. She said only that while the two ministers were "not the only members of the Israeli government whose actions have been problematic, they are certainly the most extreme." As to other matters, we don't speculate about the approach," Senator Wong told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday morning. The Israeli ministers are accused of inciting and supporting systemic violence against Palestinians and aggressively expanding illegal Israeli settlements. They will face travel bans and have any Australian assets frozen under laws. A former Labor MP who spent years advocating for laws giving Australia the power to sanction foreign actors for international law breaches has spoken out against the Albanese government's decision to join four other countries in using them against two Israeli ministers. Michael Danby, who served as the member for Melbourne Ports (now Macnamara) for 20 years before retiring from politics in 2019, was a key architect - along with the late Victorian Labor senator Kimberley Kitching - of Australia's Magnitsky-style sanctions legislation passed in 2022, which enables travel bans to be imposed and assets frozen without warning. He took aim at Foreign Minister Penny Wong for sanctioning Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich overnight, telling The Canberra Times this was not the way the law was designed to be used. "I don't agree with [the decision]," Mr Danby, who is Jewish and has long been a vocal supporter of Israel, said. "Magnitsky sanctions were only meant to be focused on authoritarian states - not democratic states like Israel, where elections or the rule of law can deal with violations by individuals, including local politicians. "Foreign Minister Wong's action against a democratic state throws into sharp relief her failure to employ Magnitsky laws against big fish from authoritarian states - like Beijing's cruel communist commissars in Tibet and East Turkestan ... Whose children often try and get educated here, who like to come on holidays to the Gold Coast here." Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told Seven's Sunrise on Wednesday morning that the decision to sanction the two ministers over their expansion of illegal settlement in the West Bank had been made "after a long process of deliberation and consideration". "We're doing that because we are all deeply concerned about the extremist settler enterprise of the Netanyahu government," she said. "We're concerned about it because it is undermining the prospects of two states. And ultimately, we, along with those other countries and the broader international community, believe we can only see peace in the Middle East when we deal with two states and when both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security." It is believed to be the first time Magnitsky laws, which are in force across many Western countries, have been used against individuals from democratic countries. Australia has previously using the laws to sanction individuals and entities in Russia, Iran, and Myanmar. Mr Danby said he agreed with criticism from United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the move did "not advance US-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire" in the Hamas-Israel war. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected this criticism on Wednesday, telling ABC radio: "I think those responses are predictable, frankly." Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said in a statement: "The sanctioning of democratically elected officials of a key ally, Israel, is a very serious development." "The Magnitsky sanctions regime was designed to respond to serious matters of international concern, such as human rights abuses and terrorist acts," Ms Ley said. "The government must explain, in full, why it is being applied in these circumstances ... We have not received a briefing about this matter but would expect there to be a very high threshold for this decision." She called on the government to "explain why they have seemingly lowered the threshold for imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions, and whether this new approach will be applied to comments made by officials from other countries." "This may have serious implications for our international relationships," Ms Ley said. She said the government's explanatory materials "make clear that Minister Wong exercised a discretionary power to impose the sanctions because of public comments made by the two Israeli Ministers, which "appears to be a new development in our foreign policy." "We are concerned that there is a pattern of decisions by the Albanese government targeting the Israeli government, rather than Hamas, including the decision to block the Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister from travelling to Australia." Mr Albanese told the ABC his government continued to "engage with the Israeli government", while standing firm on the decision, saying the two Israeli ministers had "incited violence against Palestinians in the West Bank". He said the Israeli government needed to "uphold its obligations under international law", saying that "expansionist rhetoric ... from these hardline right-wing members of the Netanyahu government" contradicted this. Senator Wong would not be drawn on whether sanctions against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself had been considered when Australia joined Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom in sanctioning the Israeli ministers. She said only that while the two ministers were "not the only members of the Israeli government whose actions have been problematic, they are certainly the most extreme." As to other matters, we don't speculate about the approach," Senator Wong told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday morning. The Israeli ministers are accused of inciting and supporting systemic violence against Palestinians and aggressively expanding illegal Israeli settlements. They will face travel bans and have any Australian assets frozen under laws.
TimesLIVE
22-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Trump's lies rile SA: was Ramaphosa's rebuttal enough?
Political analyst Khaya Sithole sees progress after the meeting but noticed the gaps, saying, 'The response to the white genocide claims was the difficult part because it is not anchored on facts, but what was important about the conversation is that until now we had no idea what formed the basis for Trump's statements and utterances. There were speculations,' he said. 'What was really missing was a very clear denunciation of the genocide conversations by those that Trump takes more seriously than others; those would have been the golfers, John Steenhuisen and, as it turned out, Johann Rupert, but progress was made.' Sanusha Naidu, from the Institute for Global Dialogue, praises Ramaphosa's strategic restraint. 'I think they were as effective as they could be given the context in which these claims were being made and the mindset of the person making the claims. Obviously, what was very difficult to do, was try to get the US president to accept that he could be wrong and that is not what anybody could achieve ... once President Trump is set on an idea and view, he doesn't back down,' she said. 'The SA Presidency, the delegation in particular, the president, handled it very well. He handled it with maturity, it was measured, it was understood what they were going to do.' Business tycoon Rupert was part of the delegation. He told Trump crime in South Africa happened across the board — everyone is affected. 'It was a good playbook, the playbook was very critical because Ramaphosa knew you were never going to convince him [Trump] otherwise ... but you now created a doubt in his mind. President Ramaphosa knows how to play this game; it's the long waiting game and he can frustrate you because you're not getting a reaction out of him,' said Naidu. Human rights lawyer Yasmin Sooka is less optimistic. 'It was quite a shock that we needed three white men to save us, none of whom rebutted the claims of persecution and genocide and it reminded me so much of the late president [FW] De Klerk who never said apartheid was a crime against humanity,' she said. Sooka warns of global repercussions: 'I think we're being set up. Just as much as we've brought a case in the ICJ on genocide, don't be surprised if the American government doesn't file a case with the Israelis accusing South Africa of persecution, which is a crime against humanity, and genocide, because this is the narrative in the face of disinformation and falsehoods.' Sooka believes only Ramaphosa and Cosatu's Zingiswa Losi 'really tried hard to rebut the misinformation'. She cautioned about Trump's focus on EFF leader Julius Malema: 'They might find that the US uses global Magnitsky sanctions or 703C designations, which will mean travel bans for them and their families, so I am not sure if we've turned the tide.' Sooka adds: 'States have an obligation if there is a basis for genocide and a crime against humanity, and so Trump's question to the president is quite loaded when he asks him what he is doing about Malema. It then becomes South Africa's failure to act when it had knowledge of the so-called genocide.'
Ya Biladi
16-04-2025
- Business
- Ya Biladi
Any US terrorist designation of Polisario could lead to trouble for South Africa
Any designation of the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization by the United States would have serious implications for South Africa, especially for advocacy and fundraising groups. This was discussed by South Africa's Mail & Guardian in an article by U.S. foreign policy expert Michael Walsh. In his article, published Thursday, Walsh interviews Zineb Riboua, a Moroccan research fellow with the Hudson Institute's Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East. Riboua explains that there will likely be serious consequences for South African NGOs and fundraising groups supporting the Polisario if they don't sever ties once the group is flagged as a terrorist organization. She explains that while «some actors — especially mainstream NGOs — [who] would likely step back to avoid legal exposure», others, «motivated by ideology or religious solidarity» may «continue their support covertly». Riboua predicts that if the South African government does not back the enforcement of a future designation «internally», the second group of «fringe actors» could persist, but they will face greater isolation, heightened monitoring, and significant financial risks. Another potential consequence is the negative impact on South Africa's economy. According to Riboua, any such designation could lead to increased international scrutiny of South Africa's banking system. She alleges that «certain individuals or NGOs in South Africa may have engaged in fundraising or advocacy» for the Polisario Front. This heightened international scrutiny would undoubtedly be an unwelcome development for South African banks. Riboua argues that this could result in more financial transactions being «flagged more often by global compliance systems», potentially exposing South African banks to «reputational damage, derisking, and even secondary sanctions». Furthermore, it could even lead to the imposition of targeted sanctions (such as Magnitsky sanctions) and/or the designation of South Africa as a state sponsor of terrorism. These concerns follow U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson's recent announcement of a forthcoming bill to designate the Polisario as a terrorist organization under U.S. law.
Middle East Eye
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
British MPs call for sanctions on UAE officials over detention of UK national
British MPs have written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy urging him to sanction Emirati officials over the 16-year detention of a UK national on "dubious" charges. Ryan Cornelius, 70, was convicted with three other expatriates in 2011 of defrauding Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) and is still in detention. In 2018 when their original sentence was due to end, a judge extended their prison sentences by 20 years in response to an application by DIB. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2022 ruled that Cornelius' detention was arbitrary and violated international law. A letter sent last week to Lammy, signed by parliamentarians including former Conservative party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Labour peer Baroness Helena Kennedy, urged the government to take "immediate and decisive action, including the imposition of Magnitsky sanctions on those responsible for his continued imprisonment". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters UK enrages Sudanese army government by inviting UAE to London conference Read More » Magnitsky sanctions target individuals responsible for corruption or rights violation. They would bar DIB's chair Mohammed al-Shaibani, who is also director general of the Dubai Ruler's Court, a UAE government body, from entering the UK. DIB said it had acted "properly" and "in accordance with applicable laws at all times". UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is trying to bolster Britain's diplomatic relations with Gulf states and seek fresh investment from their sovereign wealth funds. But UK-UAE relations are understood to be under strain due to the UAE's role in Sudan, where it has supplied the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with weapons and other goods throughout a war that began in April 2023 and has led to the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Starmer and Lammy have both visited the UAE since Labour entered government. The Foreign Office told the Financial Times that Lammy discussed Cornelius' case with his UAE counterpart last December.
