Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during the G8 Foreign Ministers Meeting in London on April 11.
U.S. Officials On Russian Entry-Ban List
After the U.S. government published its so-called Magnitsky list of 18 Russians who are subject to visa bans and asset freezes, Moscow responded on April 13 with a list of Americans banned from entering Russia. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said the 18 U.S. officials were "implicated in human rights violations." The list includes officials from former U.S. President George W. Bush's administration and officials involved in the prosecution of Russians now in U.S. prisons. Here is a look at who's on Moscow's list. It can be broken down into two parts: 1) a "Guantanamo" portion; and 2) a list of people accused by Russia of violating "the human rights and freedoms of Russian citizens abroad."
'Guantanamo List'
David Addington
David Spears Addington, 56, was legal counsel (2001-05) and chief of staff (2005-09) to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. He also served an assistant general counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and as special assistant and then deputy assistant to the president for legislative affairs during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. He is currently vice president for research at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank.
John Choon Yoo, 45, was deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice (2001-03). He is most widely known for authoring legal memos authorizing the CIA to perform "enhanced interrogation techniques," including waterboarding. The techniques and the argument for them were later revoked by U.S. President Barack Obama. He is currently a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley.
Geoffrey D. Miller, 63, a retired major general in the U.S. Army, was commander of the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay (2002-04). He also helped organize the interrogation process at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The military honored him for his service after he retired in 2006, a move that was criticized by Human Rights Watch.
Jeffrey Harbeson, a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, was commander of the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay (2010-12). In January, Russia declined to issue Harbeson a visa, claiming he oversaw human rights abuses while commanding the Guantanamo facility. He became the Navy's deputy director for politico-military affairs for Europe, NATO, and Russia after his term at Guantanamo.
The Others
Jed Saul Rakoff, 69, is a U.S. district judge of the Southern District of New York. He sentenced Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking in 2011. Yaroshenko claimed he was framed by U.S. officials for refusing to testify against convicted Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout.
Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York
Preetinder "Preet" S. Bharara, 44, is a U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. He was the lead prosecutor in several high-profile terrorism and fraud case, as well as in the case against Bout. In 2012, "Time Magazine" named him on its list of world's 100 most influential people.
Michael J. Garcia was a U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1992 to 2001. He prosecuted a number of high-profile terrorism cases relating the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States as well as bribery cases. In 2003, President George W. Bush appointed Garcia as the assistant secretary for immigration and customs enforcement (ICE).
Brendan R. McGuire is a deputy U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. He took part in prosecuting the Bout case. He was announced in January 2013 as one of the prosecutors in the U.S. case against Richard Ammar Chichakli, an alleged co-conspirator of Bout.
Anjan S. Sahni is a deputy U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. He took part in prosecuting the Bout case. He is one of the prosecutors in the U.S. case against Chichakli.
Christian R. Everdell is a deputy U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. He is one of the prosecutors in the U.S. case against Chichakli.
Michael Max Rosensaft is a former deputy U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. He took part in prosecuting the case against Konstantin Yaroshenko.
Louis J. Milione is a senior special agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He led the undercover operation to capture Bout and also provided evidence in the Yaroshenko case.
Sam Gaye is a senior special DEA agent. He provided evidence in the U.S. cases against Bout and Yaroshenko.
Robert F. Zachariasiewicz is a special DEA agent who was involved in the case against Bout.
Derek S. Odney is a special DEA agent involved in the case against Bout.
Gregory A. Coleman is an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Kremlin-funded radio station The Voice of Russia claims he was "instrumental in providing questionable evidence in various cases."
