Russian Foreign Ministry suggests applying 'Dima Yakovlev law' to all countries where Russians' rights are violated
MOSCOW. Nov 27 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry has suggested considering applying the so-called Dima Yakovlev law not only to U.S. citizens but also to representatives of other countries where Russians' rights are violated.
"It is entirely possible that it makes sense to consider making this law more universal, not limiting it to U.S. citizens, and if such situations are observed in other foreign states, it could be applied in these situations as well," the deputy director of the consular section of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ruslan Golubkovsky, said at a roundtable meeting in the Federation Council.
The federal law on measures on persons involved in violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms of Russian citizens is more commonly known as the Dima Yakovlev law.
"It is not limited to a ban on the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens. It also envisages a whole range of measures that can be used on U.S. citizens who have committed crimes against Russian citizens or are involved in their commission," Golubkovsky said.
He said he believes it is possible to consider removing from the law a direct indication to the United States and to try to make it more universal.
Citizens of the United States cannot adopt children from Russia under the controversial Dima Yakovlev law, which was passed in 2012 (it is also called retaliation to the U.S. Magnitsky Act, which imposed personal sanctions on a number of Russians). The law was named in honor of a 21-month-old boy called Dima, whose U.S. adoptive father left him in a locked car in the sun in 2008. The boy died and the adoptive father was acquitted by a U.S. court.