Russia hits 18 US officials with tit-for-tat entry ban

Russia blacklisted 18 Americans on Saturday, some linked to Guantanamo detention practices, in retaliation for a US ban on Russians allegedly linked to the death of a jailed whistleblower. Already-strained relations between the two countries chilled further as Russia hit back at what it called Washington's "unfriendly" move that would hurt mutual trust. Among the officials sanctioned by Russia were John Yoo, a legal aide under former president George W. Bush and author of the so-called torture memo in 2002 -- that provided legal backing for harsh interrogation methods -- and David Addington, who was a top adviser to ex-vice president Dick Cheney. The list also includes two former Guantanamo prison chiefs and officials who prosecuted convicted arms smuggler Viktor Bout. "The war of lists is not our choice, but we cannot ignore outright blackmail," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. On Friday, the US Treasury released a list barring 16 Russians allegedly linked to the death of jailed lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, as well as two Chechens tied to other alleged rights abuses, from travelling to the US or holding assets there under the 2012 Sergei Magnitsky Act. The measure infuriated Moscow, with the foreign ministry calling the Magnitsky Act an "absurd" law that "intervenes in our domestic affairs" and "delivers a strong blow to bilateral relations." While the US list mostly targeted mid- and low-level interior ministry officials involved in the case against Magnitsky, Russia chose several names already known internationally due to accusations of torture. "Unlike the American list, which is formed arbitrarily, our list primarily includes those who are implicated in legalisation of torture and perpetual detentions in Guantanamo prison, to the arrests and kidnapping of Russian citizens," the ministry said. "Politicians in Washington should finally realise that it is futile to build a relationship with a country like Russia in the spirit of mentoring and undisguised dictating." A US State Department official said "the right response by Russia to the international outcry over Sergei Magnitsky's death would be to conduct a proper investigation and hold those responsible for his death accountable, rather than engage in tit-for-tat retaliation." The list names four people allegedly implicated in the use of harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding, including Addington, Yoo, and former Guantanamo heads retired major general Geoffrey Miller and Rear Admiral Jeffrey Harbeson. Another 14 people are named as having violated the rights of Russian citizens abroad. Most of the Americans in the ministry's "stop-list" had been involved in US cases against Bout, the arms smuggler, and drug trafficker Konstantin Yaroshenko, both of which were hotly contested by Moscow. Senior lawmaker Alexei Pushkov, who chairs the Russian Duma lower house foreign affairs committee, announced a "visa war" on his Twitter blog. "The reset is dead," he wrote minutes after the ministry announcement, referring to the US-Russia policy of resetting relations launched in 2009. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Itar-TASS news agency that the Russian blacklist also includes a secret section that has more names, similar to a US list of more highly placed Russian officials. "The list... also has a closed section," Ryabkov said. "The Americans know about its existence." Magnitsky died in pre-trial detention in 2009 at the age of 37 after being arrested and charged by the very same officials he had accused of organising a $230 million (175-million euro) fraud scheme. The case has come to symbolise the Kremlin's failure to crack down on corruption and has prompted a crisis in US-Russia ties. Moscow reacted with anger when the Magnitsky Act was passed last year, as scores of Russians -- whose names have not been released publicly -- were hit with sanctions and blacklisted from receiving a visa to the United States. In retaliation, Russia passed a law that punishes alleged US rights abusers but also includes a clause banning adoption of Russian children by Americans. President Vladimir Putin had justified the legislation by the need to respond to a "purely political, unfriendly act" that has "sacrificed Russian-American relations." The law, and the adoption ban, went into effect on January 1 despite massive protests in Russia and international criticism.