Rep. Brad Sherman Calls for Global Magnitsky Act Sanctions on Aliyev Regime

The ANCA Backs Strict Enforcement against Top Azerbaijani Leaders

October 10, 2020

WASHINGTON, DC – In the wake of Congressman Brad Sherman’s (D-CA) call today for enforcement of Global Magnitsky sanctions against Azerbaijan, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) launched a grassroots campaign to restrict financial dealings, freeze assets, and limit travel by senior leaders in Baku.

“It’s time for the U.S. to apply Global Magnitsky sanctions on Azeri officials responsible for targeting civilians in #Artsakh. It’s also time to end security cooperation w/Azerbaijan without delay, including any arm sales, security assistance & training,” tweeted Rep. Sherman earlier today, sharing an article documenting Azerbaijan’s October 8th bombing of the Holy Savior Church, commonly known as St. Ghazanchetsots, in Shushi.

“We join with Congressman Brad Sherman in calling for Global Magnitsky sanctions against top Azerbaijani leaders guilty of committing war crimes and human rights abuses against innocent civilians in Artsakh and Armenia,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “The White House needs to answer Azerbaijan’s unprovoked aggression by ending all U.S. military aid to Baku and enforcing strict sanctions against Turkey for arming Azerbaijan and deploying jihadist terrorists against Armenians.”

The ANCA action alert – anca.org/magnitsky – empowers activists to ask Members of Congress and the President to hold Azerbaijani leaders accountable for war crimes, including the launching cluster bombs against Armenian civilians in the Artsakh Republic, a violation of human rights documented by Amnesty International.

Among the targets identified by the ANCA are: President Ilham Aliyev, Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov, Chief of the General Staff Sadikov Najmeddin Huseynoglu, Deputy Minister of Defense (Army) Mustafayev Kerem Narimanoglu, and Deputy Minister of Defense (Air Force) Tairov Ramiz Firudinoglu.

The Global Magnitsky Act – a powerful statutory tool enacted by Congress – gives the White House broad power to sanction foreign officials who are responsible for serious human rights abuses. The text of the White House Executive Order on the Magnitsky Act can can be found at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-blocking-property-persons-involved-serious-human-rights-abuse-corruption/

The ANCA is also calling on the White House – via the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) – to enforce strict economic sanctions against Turkish President Recep Erdogan for arming Azerbaijan with prohibited weapons and recruiting known terrorists into combat against Armenian civilians.

The ANCA alert underscores that “Turkey and Azerbaijan (with a combined population of 100 million) will complete the work of the Armenian Genocide, the systematic destruction of the world’s first Christian nation, a proud modern democracy of just three million people struggling to survive on the frontier of world freedom.”

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