Dima Yakovlev Law
{{Short description|Law defining citizens banned from Russia}}
{{Infobox legislation
| image = Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation 2.svg
| imagesize = 200px
| caption = Standard of the president of Russia
| long_title = On Sanctions for Individuals Violating Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms of the Citizens of the Russian Federation
| citation = 272-ФЗ
| status = in force
| signed_by = President Vladimir Putin
| date_signed = 28 December 2012
| bill_date = 29 December 2012
| 1st_reading = 21 December 2012 (State Duma)
| 2nd_reading = 27 December 2012 (Federation Council)
| date_effective = 1 January 2013
| considered_by =
| territorial_extent = Russian Federation
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
Federal Law of 28 December 2012 No. 272-FZ "On Sanctions for Individuals Violating Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms of the Citizens of the Russian Federation",{{cite act |type=Federal Law |index=272-FZ |date=28 December 2012 |legislature=State Duma |title=О мерах воздействия на лиц, причастных к нарушениям основополагающих прав и свобод человека, прав и свобод граждан Российской Федерации |language=ru |trans-title=On Sanctions for Individuals Violating Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms of the Citizens of the Russian Federation |url=http://pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?searchres=&bpas=cd00000&a3=102000505&a3type=1&a3value=&a6=&a6type=1&a6value=&a15=&a15type=1&a15value=&a7type=1&a7from=&a7to=&a7date=28.12.2012&a8=272-%D4%C7&a8type=1&a1=&a0=&a16=&a16type=1&a16value=&a17=&a17type=1&a17value=&a4=&a4type=1&a4value=&a23=&a23type=1&a23value=&textpres=&sort=7&x=50&y=16}} {{Cite web |url=http://pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?searchres=&bpas=cd00000&a3=102000505&a3type=1&a3value=&a6=&a6type=1&a6value=&a15=&a15type=1&a15value=&a7type=1&a7from=&a7to=&a7date=28.12.2012&a8=272-%D4%C7&a8type=1&a1=&a0=&a16=&a16type=1&a16value=&a17=&a17type=1&a17value=&a4=&a4type=1&a4value=&a23=&a23type=1&a23value=&textpres=&sort=7&x=50&y=16 |title=Законодательство России. Поиск: Федеральный закон Дата принятия 28.12.2012 Номер начинается |lang=ru |access-date=21 September 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709191331/http://pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?searchres=&bpas=cd00000&a3=102000505&a3type=1&a3value=&a6=&a6type=1&a6value=&a15=&a15type=1&a15value=&a7type=1&a7from=&a7to=&a7date=28.12.2012&a8=272-%D4%C7&a8type=1&a1=&a0=&a16=&a16type=1&a16value=&a17=&a17type=1&a17value=&a4=&a4type=1&a4value=&a23=&a23type=1&a23value=&textpres=&sort=7&x=50&y=16 |url-status=bot: unknown }}[http://eng.kremlin.ru/acts/4810 A law on sanctions for individuals violating fundamental human rights and freedoms of Russian citizens has been signed]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102005952/http://eng.kremlin.ru/acts/4810 |date=2013-01-02 }}. Kremlin.ru, 28 December 2012. popularly known as the Dima Yakovlev Law ({{langx|ru|Закон Димы Яковлева}}),{{cite news |last=Englund |first=Will |title=Russians say they'll name their Magnitsky-retaliation law after baby who died in a hot car in Va. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/11/magnitsky-retaliation-man-baby/ |access-date=28 December 2012 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=11 December 2012 |archive-date=12 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212161723/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/11/magnitsky-retaliation-man-baby/ |url-status=live}}{{efn|Also known by other informal names: Dima Yakovlev Bill, Dima Yakovlev Act,{{cn|date=May 2023}} anti-Magnitsky law,{{Cite web |url=http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=386357 |title=Putin signs "anti-Magnitsky law" |website=Interfax |access-date=2019-08-23 |archive-date=2013-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605191248/http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=386357 |url-status=dead}} or Law of Scoundrels.{{cite news |author= |date=1 June 2020 |title="Закон подлецов" в действии |language=ru |work=Novaya Gazeta |url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2020/06/01/85636-zakon-podletsov-v-deystvii |access-date=21 September 2021 |archive-date=20 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020121422/https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2020/06/01/85636-zakon-podletsov-v-deystvii |url-status=live}}}} is a law in Russia that defines sanctions against U.S. citizens involved in "violations of the human rights and freedoms of Russian citizens". It creates a list of citizens who are banned from entering Russia, and also allows the government to freeze their assets and investments. The law suspends the activity of politically active non-profit organisations which receive money from American citizens or organisations. It also bans citizens of the United States from adopting children from Russia.{{cite news |title=Russia's Putin signs anti-U.S. adoption bill |url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/28/world/europe/russia-us-adoptions/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 |access-date=28 December 2012 |newspaper=CNN |date=28 December 2012 |author=((CNN Staff)) |archive-date=3 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003064948/https://www.cnn.com/2012/12/28/world/europe/russia-us-adoptions/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 |url-status=live}}
The law was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 28 December 2012 and took effect on 1 January 2013.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} The law is informally named after a Russian orphan adopted by a family from Purcellville, Virginia, who died of heat stroke after being left in a parked car for nine hours. The law is described as a response to the Magnitsky Act in the United States, which places sanctions on Russian officials who were involved in a tax scandal exposed by Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky; Magnitsky was alleged to have been handcuffed and tortured while in jail, supported by the official post-mortem expert opinion of the Russian Forensic Medical Examination Center of the Russian Ministry of Health.{{cite web |url=http://russian-untouchables.com/docs/Nekrasov%20Lies%20Presentaion%20June%20(ENG)%20NEW%20JUNE%202016%20v%202.pdf |author=Vladimir S. Martynov |title=Lies of Nekrasov–Piraya anti-Magnitsky "Documentary" |date=24 Jun 2016 |quote=The injuries which S. L. Magnitsky had were caused resultantly from the traumatic application of the blunt hard object (objects) which is confirmed by the closed type of the trauma and their morphological manifestations in the form of the abrasions, ecchymomas, blood effusions into the soft tissues.}}
Voting for the law in Russian Parliament
The bill was proposed by United Russia deputy Ekaterina Lakhova. The bill passed the State Duma on 21 December 2012 and the Federation Council on 27 December 2012.{{cite news|title=Russian State Duma Passes Anti-US Adoption Bill|url=http://en.ria.ru/politics/20121221/178311481.html|access-date=28 December 2012|newspaper=RIA Novosti|date=21 December 2012|archive-date=25 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725080753/http://en.ria.ru/politics/20121221/178311481.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Burghardt |first=David |title=Russian parliament passes anti-US adoption law |url=http://themoscownews.com/russia/20121226/191064431.html |access-date=28 December 2012 |newspaper=The Moscow News |date=26 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115032758/http://themoscownews.com/russia/20121226/191064431.html |archive-date=15 January 2013 }}
In the Duma, the bill's first reading saw one vote against (Ilya Ponomarev). The second reading received four votes against (Ilya Ponomarev, Dmitry Gudkov, Valery Zubov, Sergei Petrov - all from the A Just Russia faction), while the third and final reading was opposed by eight members (the previous four plus Andrei Ozerov from A Just Russia, Oleg Smolin and Zhores Alferov from the Communist Party of Russia, Boris Reznik from United Russia).{{cite news|title=Who voted against Dima Yakovlev law|url=http://www.forbes.ru/sobytiya-photogallery/231313-kto-golosoval-protiv-zapreta-na-usynovlenie-amerikantsami-rossiiskih-si/photo/1|newspaper=Forbes|access-date=2014-09-16|archive-date=2017-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606040632/http://www.forbes.ru/sobytiya-photogallery/231313-kto-golosoval-protiv-zapreta-na-usynovlenie-amerikantsami-rossiiskih-si/photo/1|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=List of votes on Dima Yakovlev law|url=http://ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com/553090.html|last=Ponomarev|first=Ilya|publisher=LiveJournal|access-date=2014-09-16|archive-date=2012-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222012611/http://ilya-ponomarev.livejournal.com/553090.html|url-status=live}}
A United States Department of State press release states they "deeply regret Russia's passage of a law ending inter-country adoptions between the United States and Russia".{{cite news|last=Ventrell|first=Patrick|title=Statement on Russia's Yakovlev Act|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/12/202401.htm|access-date=28 December 2012|newspaper=United States Department of State|date=28 December 2012|archive-date=24 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324012905/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/12/202401.htm|url-status=live}} United States Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said the law will "link the fate of orphaned children to unrelated political issues."{{cite news|title=Putin signs bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/putin-signs-bill-banning-americans-from-adopting-russian-children/|access-date=28 December 2012|newspaper=Fox News|date=28 December 2012|archive-date=2 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102050321/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/27/russia-putin-says-intends-to-sign-anti-us-adoptions-bill-into-law/|url-status=live}}
Namesake
In the State Duma, the law was informally named after Dima Yakovlev (born Dmitry Yakovlev), a Russian toddler who was adopted by Miles Harrison of Virginia. The child was renamed Chase Harrison while in the United States.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/16/AR2008121600924.html |title=On Stand, Man Tells Of Son's Death in Car |work=Washingtonpost.com |date=17 December 2008 |access-date=2012-12-29 |first=Tom |last=Jackman |archive-date=2018-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111002750/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/16/AR2008121600924.html |url-status=live }} In July 2008, less than three months after he arrived in the United States, Dima died while he was strapped into his adoptive father's car. He had been left alone for nine hours in the car after his father forgot to take him to daycare service.{{cite news |last1=Turner |first1=Lauren |title=Hot car death dad says new safety rules not enough |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49600499 |access-date=20 February 2021 |agency=BBC News, Washington DC |date=5 September 2019 |archive-date=20 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720115035/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49600499 |url-status=live }}
Following trial, Harrison was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter by a Circuit Court judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, in January 2009. The case became national news in Russia, highlighting abuse cases involving Russian children adopted by American parents. Following the child's death, Russian federal prosecutors opened an investigation into the circumstances of the incident, while Russian authorities called for restriction or ending of the adoption of Russian children by Americans.{{cite news|title=Russian Furor Over U.S. Adoptions Follows American's Acquittal in Boy's Death|author=Ellen Barry|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/world/europe/04adopt.html?_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|date=3 January 2009|access-date=25 January 2013|archive-date=9 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609095114/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/world/europe/04adopt.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}
On 28 December 2012, Governor of Pskov Oblast Andrey Turchak suspended two officials pending an investigation into their roles in the adoption of Dima Yakovlev.{{cn|date=April 2023}}
Reactions
Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin said that the law will be contested in Russian constitutional courts.{{cite web |url=http://www.interfax.co.uk/russia-military-news/dima-yakovlev-law-will-be-contested-in-constitutional-court-lukin-part-2-2/ |title=Dima Yakovlev law will be contested in Constitutional Court |publisher=Interfax.co.uk |access-date=2012-12-29 |archive-date=2022-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309161726/https://interfax.com/ |url-status=live }}
=Support=
The Russian Orthodox Church supports the law. Church spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin says orphans adopted by American citizens "won't get a truly Christian upbringing and that means falling away from the Church and from the path to eternal life, in God's kingdom".{{cite news|last=Elder|first=Miriam|title=Church backs Vladimir Putin's ban on Americans adopting Russian children|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/30/russian-church-backs-putin-adoption-ban|access-date=30 December 2012|newspaper=The Observer|date=29 December 2012|location=London|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429203638/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/30/russian-church-backs-putin-adoption-ban|url-status=live}} According to the independent Moscow Times, the ban is popular among Russians.
=Criticism=
==Western==
The U.S. media outlets The Christian Science Monitor,{{cite web |author=Mark Nuckols |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/1228/Putin-shows-Russian-insecurity-in-signing-ban-on-US-adoption-of-orphans |title=Putin shows Russian insecurity in signing ban on US adoption of orphans |publisher=CSMonitor.com |date=2012-12-19 |access-date=2012-12-29 |archive-date=2021-03-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301225533/https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/1228/Putin-shows-Russian-insecurity-in-signing-ban-on-US-adoption-of-orphans |url-status=live }} Fox News,{{cite news |url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/2059350350001/russian-adoption-ban-set-to-devastate-us-families-orphans?intcmp=related |title=Russian adoption ban set to devastate US families, orphans |publisher=Fox News |date=2006-10-01 |access-date=2012-12-29 |archive-date=2021-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308185858/https://video.foxnews.com/v/2059350350001/russian-adoption-ban-set-to-devastate-us-families-orphans?intcmp=related |url-status=live }} The Daily Beast,{{cite news |last=Pesta |first=Abigail |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/28/with-u-s-adoption-ban-a-mother-fears-for-russia-s-abandoned-kids.html |title=With U.S. Adoption Ban, a Mother Fears for Russia's Abandoned Kids |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=2012-12-28 |access-date=2012-12-29 |archive-date=2017-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405225113/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/28/with-u-s-adoption-ban-a-mother-fears-for-russia-s-abandoned-kids.html |url-status=live }} Time,{{cite news |last=Sifferlin |first=Alexandra |url=https://healthland.time.com/2012/12/28/russias-adoption-politics-defeated-families-caught-in-a-diplomatic-tailspin/?iid=tsmodule |title=Russia's Ban on U.S. Adoption Leaves American Families in Anguish |publisher=Time |date=28 December 2012 |access-date=2012-12-29 |archive-date=2021-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304034932/https://healthland.time.com/2012/12/28/russias-adoption-politics-defeated-families-caught-in-a-diplomatic-tailspin/?iid=tsmodule |url-status=live }} and a local Houston, Texas, media affiliate{{cite web |url=http://www.khou.com/news/local/Houston-families-devastated-by-adoption-ban-185089311.html |title=Houston families devastated by adoption ban |publisher=Khou.com |access-date=2012-12-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130101080422/http://www.khou.com/news/local/Houston-families-devastated-by-adoption-ban-185089311.html |archive-date=2013-01-01 }} criticised the move. The British newspaper The Guardian says it is "not about children's rights" and "ruins lives and leaves both countries looking sordid".{{cite news |author=Laurie Penny |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/28/russia-ban-us-adoption-children-rights |title=Russia's ban on US adoption isn't about children's rights |work=The Guardian |date=28 December 2012 |access-date=2012-12-29 |location=London |archive-date=2021-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609073914/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/28/russia-ban-us-adoption-children-rights |url-status=live }} After the law was signed on December 28, the day many Christians mark as the Massacre of the Innocents, the law is referred to by The Economist as "Herod's law" and "cannibalistic".{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2013/01/05/herods-law|title=Herod's law|date=2013-01-05|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2019-08-23|issn=0013-0613|archive-date=2021-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110011936/https://www.economist.com/europe/2013/01/05/herods-law|url-status=live}}
Amnesty International called the law "in no one's best interest" and called for Russian parliamentarians to reject the law.{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/dima-yakovlev-bill-no-one-s-best-interests-2012-12-20-0 |title=Russia: 'Dima Yakovlev' Bill in no one's best interests |publisher=Amnesty.org |access-date=2012-12-29 |archive-date=2014-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113003623/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/dima-yakovlev-bill-no-one-s-best-interests-2012-12-20-0 |url-status=dead }} Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia director Hugh Williamson says the law "could deprive them (Russian orphans) of the loving families they desperately need".{{cite news|title=Russia: Reject Adoption Ban Bill|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/12/21/russia-reject-adoption-ban-bill|access-date=30 December 2012|newspaper=Human Rights Watch|date=28 December 2012|archive-date=25 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225001508/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/12/21/russia-reject-adoption-ban-bill|url-status=live}}
==Russian==
On 14 January 2013, about 20,000 people marched against the law in Moscow.{{cite news| url= http://www.3news.co.nz/Russians-march-against-US-adoption-ban/tabid/417/articleID/282914/Default.aspx| work= 3 News NZ| title= Russians march against adoption ban| date= 14 January 2013| access-date= 13 January 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130311094027/http://www.3news.co.nz/Russians-march-against-US-adoption-ban/tabid/417/articleID/282914/Default.aspx| archive-date= 11 March 2013| url-status= dead}} Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar says "Russian orphans should not become hostages of politics."{{cite web |url=http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=10170 |title=Interfax-Religion |publisher=Interfax-Religion |access-date=2012-12-29 |archive-date=2013-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106103030/http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=10170 |url-status=live }}
Aftermath
{{Further|Orphans in Russia}}
From 1991 to 2010, over 50,000 Russian orphans were adopted in the United States; however, according to Time magazine, U.S. adoptions of Russian children fell by two-thirds from 2004 to 2009.{{cite news|title=How Russian Adoptions Became a Controversial Topic|url=https://time.com/4868968/donald-trump-russia-adoption-history/|access-date=27 April 2018|work=Time magazine|date=2017|language=en|archive-date=18 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818050912/https://time.com/4868968/donald-trump-russia-adoption-history/|url-status=live}} At the time of the 2012 ban, over one thousand prospective adoptions were in progress.{{cite news|title=Russian lawmaker says Moscow may lift adoption ban|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/18/russian-lawmaker-says-moscow-may-lift-ban-us-adoptions/96710392/|access-date=27 April 2018|work=USA TODAY|date=2012|language=en|archive-date=25 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225124741/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/18/russian-lawmaker-says-moscow-may-lift-ban-us-adoptions/96710392/|url-status=live}} Among these prospective adoptions were about 200 Russian orphans told they were to be adopted.{{cite news|title=10 Laws Russia Needs To Scrap|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-10-laws-that-must-go/27445573.html|access-date=27 April 2018|work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|date=2015|language=en|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112015840/https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-10-laws-that-must-go/27445573.html|url-status=live}} In January 2017, the European Court of Human Rights levied a fine on Russia, ruling that the ban constituted unlawful discrimination against prospective parents based on their nationality.{{cite news|title=Bargaining Chips: Why Russian Orphans Might Become Political Pawns Once Again|url=https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/bargaining-chips-why-russian-orphans-might-become-political-pawns-once-again-56941|access-date=27 April 2018|work=The Moscow Times|date=2017|archive-date=15 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715221403/https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/bargaining-chips-why-russian-orphans-might-become-political-pawns-once-again-56941|url-status=live}}
References
=Notes=
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
=Sources=
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130102005952/http://eng.kremlin.ru/acts/4810 A law on sanctions for individuals violating fundamental human rights and freedoms of Russian citizens has been signed] // Kremlin.ru, December 28, 2012
- [http://www.kremlin.ru/acts/17233 Подписан закон о мерах воздействия на лиц, причастных к нарушениям основополагающих прав и свобод человека, прав и свобод граждан России] // Kremlin.ru, December 28, 2012 (With full text of Law and short note) {{in lang|ru}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20140409014841/http://www.fiia.fi/en/publication/310/the_russian_adoption_ban_fits_the_putin_agenda/ The Russian adoption ban fits the Putin agenda: The logic of the Dima Yakovlev law is inevitable but short-sighted], FIIA Comment (1)2013, The Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- [https://www.hrw.org/node/115058/section/9 V. The "Dima Yakovlev Law"] // Laws of Attrition. Human Rights Watch, 2013. {{ISBN|978-1-62313-0060}}
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4506728/ To the Moon and Back], a 2016 documentary by Susan Morgan Cooper, about the Dima Yakovlev Law.
{{Adopt}}
{{Russia–United States relations}}
Category:Immigration to the United States
Category:Political scandals in Russia
Category:Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections