The Department of Homeland Security says a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin can travel to the United States following outcry over the revelation that his travel privileges had been revoked.
Bill Browder, a British financier and advocate for the Magnitsky Act, said earlier that he had temporarily been blocked from traveling to the U.S. after Russia added his name to the Interpol wanted list.
Browder’s account triggered alarm on Capitol Hill, with Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) urging Homeland Security to immediately review the decision to revoke his travel privileges.
“It would be unfortunate if the U.S. decided to bar him based on a decision by those same Russian officials who have been targeted by this important legislation,” the lawmakers said in a statement.
Browder is a proponent of the Magnitsky Act, which was signed into law in 2012 to punish human rights abusers in Russia. The law is named for Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died under suspicious circumstances in a prison in Russia after uncovering a fraud scheme.