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In Guatemala, in various circumstances we have heard about the possible application of the Magnitsky law against government officials and politicians. More than a year ago I published my article dedicated to this topic.

Today we can update this theme. For more than a year, after writing this article, many things have happened that allow us to define some aspects.

The Magnitsky law was created at the end of 2012 to prosecute officials and all persons linked to the tragic death of  Sergei Magnitsky – a lawyer of Bill Browder who was tortured and killed in Russian prison in November of 2009. The list of people sanctioned by this law, known as the Cardin list, by the name of Senator Benjamin Cardin Who who created this list, initially included 60 names of officers of the  Interior Ministry  ( analog of Public Ministry in Guatemala ), FSB  ( service of Russian intelligence), judges, prosecutors, officers of the penitentiary system. There are in total: 25 detectives, 16 officials of the penitentiary system, 11 judges, 6 prosecutors, 2 FSB officers. All of them have their personal responsibility for the illegal arrest of Magnitsky that led to his death.

The list can be replenished with new people if their participation in this crime is discovered. The Law imposes sanctions against people that includes prohibition of having bank accounts in US banks, immigration restrictions, having any property in the US, having labor relations with US citizens. In reality sanctioned people lose all the possibility of interacting with the institutions and subjects of the democratic countries.

Here is the brief explanation of how and against whom the Magnitsky Law can be applied.

Here is the translation of the Magnitskiy Global Law in Spanish.

From this Law we can see what are the causes to apply the sanctions by the President of the United States.

SECOND. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.

(a) In General . – The President may impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to any foreign person that the President determines, based on credible evidence:

(1) is responsible for extrajudicial executions, torture or other serious internationally recognized human rights violations committed against individuals in any foreign country seeking:

(A) expose illegal activities carried out by government officials; or

(B) to obtain, exercise, defend or promote internationally recognized human rights and freedoms, such as the freedoms of religion, expression, association and assembly, and the rights to a fair trial and democratic elections;

(2) acted as agent of or on behalf of a foreign person in a matter related to an activity described in paragraph (1);

(3) is a government official or a principal associate of such officer, who is responsible for , or complicit in ordering, controlling , or otherwise directing acts of significant corruption, including the expropriation of public or private assets for personal gain. The corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, bribery or the facilitation or transfer of proceeds of corruption to foreign jurisdictions, or

(4) has assisted, sponsored or provided financial, material or technological support, or goods or services in support of an activity described in paragraph (3).

Later the Magnitsky Law was adopted by many democratic countries for the purpose of applying it in similar cases such as that of Sergei Magnitsky and it has the big significance for our family that for more than 10 years is persecuted by the Russian criminal state together with CICIG, FECI, Thelma Aldana and other high-ranking officials of Guatemala. These officials in different forms collaborated with the Russian state in our persecution and against them The Magnitsky Law can be applied.

These people participated directly in the acts of violation of our human rights and have even committed the acts identified as torture according to the National Office for the Prevention of Torture in Guatemala.

Our family suffered illegal imprisonment, kidnapping of our 3 year old son, torture and illegal criminal prosecution that continues up to this day. Because of the miracle of God and the help of Bill Browder and his team, we survived and managed to obtain freedom even though the penal process continues and the illegalities are increasing. The list of officials and people directly involved in the illegalities against our family is also increasing. To this day we already have 72 names. I will present some of them with the brief description of the facts denounced.

Claudia Gonzalez Orellana

– Prosecutor of CICIG, responsible for presenting CICIG in the criminal proceedings against our family. Since the beginning of the process, she has committed numerous violations of the Law, due process, the mandate of CICIG, false statements. She constantly supported and promoted interests of Russian banks illegally involved in the process. She has carried out influence peddling, abuses of authority, obstruction of justice and other crimes. It has hidden compelling evidence and information to lend impunity to the entire criminal structure of traffickers of people that we have denounced. It was she who demanded the maximum penalties and preventive prison for all members of our family of migrants. She is personally responsible for torturing all members of our family and especially our children.

Marcos Alberto Cutino Gonzalez

Leader of the criminal structure of human traffickers and money laundering. He was founder and General Manager of the law company Cutino International that has brought to Guatemala thousands of migrants with the purpose of providing them with the service of obtaining the citizenship of Guatemala. All the procedures were carried out in the state offices by means of high ranking officials, including the former secretary general of the MP – Mayra Veliz and former Minister of Foreign Relations – Raúl Morales. Our family has been a victim of this company, like thousands of other foreigners. Marcos Cutino worked together with high-ranking officials and to this day is enjoying complete impunity.

Mayra Yojana Veliz Lopez

– Former General Secretary of the Public Ministry. Member of the criminal structure that has carried out the process of identification documents for our family. She personally has issued permanent residence for our daughter Anastasia. According to the indications of the members of the criminal structure, it was Mayra Veliz who coordinated in Migration and RENAP the illegal procedures for the structure. During her tenure as secretary general of the Public Ministry, Mayra Veliz has managed to hide again and again the investigations against the criminal structure.

Carlos Raúl Morales Moscoso

– Former Minister of Foreign Affairs. Member of the criminal structure of traffickers of people who has issued numerous false naturalizations for foreigners, there is information that he has maintained contacts with the Russian criminal state through the embassies of Russia and Guatemala.

Erica Lorena Aifan Davila

– The judge controlling the criminal proceedings against our family. She has personally violated national and international laws by keeping the criminal process illegally against our family of migrants, rejecting our status as migrants. She disobeyed the resolutions of the Court of Appeals and the CC to comply with the laws that protect migrants from criminal prosecution for the use of documents. Erica Aifan gave full impunity to the entire criminal structure of human traffickers, rejecting their existence despite the numerous evidence against this structure. Erica Aifan had contacts with the representative of the Russian bank Gazprombank – Alfonso Carrillo and the Russian embassy informing them about the sentences envisaged for our family.Erica Aifan has committed the act of torture against our family confirmed by the National Office for the Prevention of Torture in Guatemala.

Kenneth Biderman Gonzalez

The second leader of the criminal structure of people traffickers and money laundering, right hand of Marcos Cutino. He has personal responsibility to deceive our family with the processing of documents in Guatemala. He is linked to the high officials of Guatemala and enjoys full impunity until today. Through its structure, thousands of foreigners were deceived in the process of obtaining citizenship in Guatemala. All the procedures were carried out in the state offices by means of high ranking officials, including the former general secretary of the Public Ministry – Mayra Veliz and the former minister of Foreign Relations – Raúl Morales. Members of our family are victims of this company, like thousands of other foreigners.

Iris Yassmin Barrios Aguilar

The president of the court that has sentenced our family in violation of national and international laws and rejecting our status as migrants. She has disobeyed the resolutions of the Court of Appeals and the Constitutional Court to comply with the laws that protect migrants from criminal prosecution for the use of identity documents. Yassmin Barrios has given full impunity to the criminal structure of human traffickers, has withheld evidence and refused access to the documents of the file for us and our lawyers. The court has sentenced our family to 47-year prison sentences for something that is not a crime. Iris Yassmin Barrios Aguilar was  influenced by the Russian government and the CICIG, has revoked house arrest granted to Anastasia and Irina Bitkova which was given for health reasons and thereby has put their lives in grave danger and was responsible for their torture in prison, furthermore leaving our little son without family in a foreign country.  Yassmin Barrios has committed the act of torture against our family confirmed by the National Office for the Prevention of Torture in Guatemala.

Stuart Ernesto Campo Aguilar

He was the first FECI prosecutor in charge of the case against our family. He filed false accusations against our family. He lent full support to the Russian government bank VTB in its illegitimate actions. He is personally responsible for theft of our belongings in the house during search and custody of the MP later. He has hidden evidence and information about the participation of high-ranking officials in the issuance of our documents, giving full impunity to the entire criminal structure of human traffickers.

Maria Belen Reyna Salazar

– The judge of the first instance of Childhood and Adolescence of the Metropolitan Area. She has decided to send our son Vladimir, who just turned 3 years old at the time, to an orphanage. She has violated the laws by internalizing the child, fulfilling the illegal demands of the CICIG and the Russian criminal state. Although Vladimir had permission from the high court judge to remain with his mother in the hospital, he also had his legal guardians and his home comfortable and safe, Judge Maria Salazar had ordered to take him to the orphanage forbidding his parents to know where and how he was and forbidding to lend him any support. In the orphanage the child had suffered irreparable physical and emotional damage. The violation of the Human Rights of Vladimir and of us, his parents, is confirmed by the sentence of the Human Rights Ombudsman, the resolutions of the CSJ and the CC.

As it is clear from the brief description of the facts of these people, all of them are directly related to acts of torture or other serious violations of human rights, internationally recognized, committed against our family of migrants, politically persecuted by the Russian criminal state . They took away the possibility of obtaining a fair trial, stole our property and caused serious damage to our health. All those responsible are high-ranking officials and people related to them. We have extensive documentary evidence and evidence of the facts denounced.

It is important to mention that there are many more people and entire families who have suffered serious damage from these same people, some even lost their lives as doctors Jesus Oliva and Raul Castañeda or José Estuardo Valdés Country and several other innocent people who have not survived the persecution

The Magnitsky Law was created by Bill Browder in a tremendous fight against the Russian criminal state, where people lost their lives to protect the lives and Human Rights of victims of persecution. But in no way this Law was not created for political games as some political operators in the US and Guatemala intend to take advantage of their power and influence.

We managed to survive in this persecution but we want justice, so that never again such violations to human rights happen in Guatemala and go unpunished, so that there are no more victims without a voice. We have the right for justice and we will obtain it through The Magnitsky Law.