WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two individuals, Li Zhenyu and Xinrong Zhuo, and the networks of entities they control, including Dalian Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd. and Pingtan Marine Enterprise, Ltd. (Nasdaq: PME) along with eight other affiliated entities. Additionally, this action identifies 157 People’s Republic of China (PRC) flagged fishing vessels in which these entities have an interest.

These actions are taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world. Today’s action demonstrates the U.S. government’s ongoing effort to impose tangible and significant consequences on those engaged in serious human rights abuse, including on those vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

On June 27, 2022, President Biden issued the Memorandum on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Associated Labor Abuses. The Memorandum notes that, if left unchecked, IUU fishing and associated labor abuses threaten the livelihoods and human rights of fishers around the world and will undermine U.S. economic competitiveness, national security, and fishery sustainability. Moreover, this behavior will exacerbate the environmental and socioeconomic effects of climate change.

“Treasury condemns the practices of those sanctioned today, which often involve the abuse of human rights, undermine fundamental labor and environmental standards, and harm the economic prospects of local populations in the Indo-Pacific,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “These designations demonstrate how seriously we take the problem of illicit fishing and our commitment to holding the perpetrators of serious human rights abuses to account.”

This is the first time Treasury has designated an entity listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

ILLEGAL, UNREPORTED, AND UNREGULATED FISHING

IUU fishing is a global and often unrecognized problem that threatens ocean ecosystems and sustainable fisheries. IUU fishing refers to fishing practices that are conducted in contravention of applicable laws and regulations, fishing that is not reported or misreported to relevant authorities, or fishing in unregulated areas or for unregulated species in ways that are inconsistent with countries’ conservation responsibilities. IUU also is associated with distant water fishing (DWF), where fleets fish in other countries’ waters or in international waters to meet the growing demand for seafood. China’s DWF fleet is the largest in the world.

IUU fishing and DWF fleets have a reputation for rampant abuse of crewmembers. According to the International Labor Organization, there are strong links between IUU fishing and the use of forced labor on board. Fishing often takes place in extreme isolation with unique vulnerabilities presented in terms of working hours and conditions, wages, and access to health care and communication technologies. The work is often carried out by migrants, who are particularly vulnerable to deception and coercion in recruitment and employment.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “addressing forced labor is particularly challenging within the seafood industry. Vessels sometimes spend months to years at sea, impeding the escape from, or the reporting of, labor abuse. Emotional and physical abuse, sometimes resulting in death; excessive overtime; poor living conditions; deceptive or coercive recruiting; and non-payment or underpayment of wages are some examples of the abuses sustained by fishing sector workers subjected to human trafficking, including forced labor.”

These designations are the latest U.S. government actions in an ongoing effort to deter IUU fishing and associated human rights abuses in the international fishing industry.

DALIAN OCEAN FISHING CO., LTD.

As the owner and manager of 32 fishing vessels, Dalian Ocean Fishing Co. Ltd. (DOF) is responsible for the day-to-day operations of its fleet. In February 2019, one of DOF’s fishing vessels, LONG XING 629, went to sea with a crew of 24, operating in the Pacific Ocean until April 2020. While the LONG XING 629 was licensed to catch tuna during its voyage, it also was reportedly engaged in illegal shark finning, taking over 700kg of fins, including from endangered sharks. After 13 months without a port visit, with average workdays lasting 18 hours and living off expired food and brown desalinated seawater, five crewmembers had died; at-sea refueling and transshipments of fish to refrigerated cargo vessels known as “reefers” allowed the ship to operate without interruption. The bodies of three crewmembers who died at sea were dumped into the ocean rather than repatriated home. When the surviving crewmembers returned home, they were diagnosed with malnutrition and received only a fraction of their promised pay. They have since described deceptive recruiting practices, the confiscation of identity documents, punishing work, and physical abuse.

Subsequent investigation found that similar abuses occurred across DOF’s fleet, with widespread reports of physical assault, malnutrition, overwork, withheld pay, and five more crewmember deaths. Based on their contracts, crewmembers who left the ship would forfeit their salaries while still owing the recruiting fees they had agreed to pay out of future earnings, leading to the potential for intergenerational debt bondage. Other vessels stayed at sea for more than two years without a port visit, meaning no access to the outside world or any way to let others know of the oppressive conditions. Through all of this, DOF received almost $8 million annually in PRC government subsidies encouraging distant water fishing.

OFAC designated DOF’s chairman and general manager, Li Zhenyu (Li), pursuant to E.O. 13818, for being a foreign person who is a leader or official of an entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in serious human rights abuse relating to the leader’s or official’s tenure.

OFAC designated DOF pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being owned or controlled by Li.

OFAC also identified 32 vessels in which DOF has an interest and are therefore blocked property.

PINGTAN MARINE ENTERPRISE, LTD.

Cayman Islands-registered Pingtan Marine Enterprise, Ltd (PME) operates a large fleet of nearly 100 fishing vessels and reefers through its subsidiary, China-based Fujian Provincial Pingtan County Ocean Fishing Group Co., Ltd. (Pingtan Fishing), and its affiliated company, Fuzhou Honglong Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd. (Honglong), along with roughly 2,000 crewmembers. In 2021, Pingtan Fishing received a $19 million subsidy from the PRC government as an incentive to develop its DWF industry to satisfy China’s demand for seafood. Its vessels have been involved in serious human rights abuse and implicated in IUU fishing and other illegal activity in Indonesia, East Timor, and Ecuador. This includes the 2017 seizure of a Honglong-owned vessel and the arrest and imprisonment of the vessel’s crew after the Ecuadorian Navy found it had illegally transshipped more than 6,600 shark carcasses, including from endangered species, through the waters of the protected Galapagos Marine Reserve. Additionally, in 2016, an Indonesian court ordered a moratorium on PME’s fishing activities and the impoundment of its affiliate vessels in Indonesia following allegations against an affiliated company that included human rights abuse.

Crewmembers, already enduring miserable conditions, overwork, and extreme isolation aboard Pingtan Fishing-owned vessels, have reported instances of physical violence and forced labor. In one case, after crewmembers reportedly contacted their families for the first time in seven months and learned they had not been paid, a crewmember’s request to leave the ship was denied and food was withheld for three days. Crews that had completed their contracts, but who were forced to continue working for months in light of COVID restrictions, learned only later that they were never paid at all. Still others reported physical abuse. On another ship, a grossly negligent response to an accident contributed to the death of a crewmember after it took over two weeks to get the seriously injured crewmember to see a doctor aboard another ship. In another case, crewmembers on one ship only learned of the global pandemic in May 2020, after they arrived in port for the first time in over a year.

OFAC designated PME’s founder, chairman, and CEO, Xinrong Zhuo (Zhuo), pursuant to E.O. 13818, for being a foreign person who is a leader or official of an entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in serious human rights abuse relating to the leader’s or official’s tenure.

OFAC also designated, pursuant to E.O. 13818, PME, Heroic Treasure Limited, and Mars Harvest Co., Ltd. for being owned or controlled by Zhuo; the British Virgin Islands-registered Merchant Supreme Co., Ltd. (Merchant) for being owned or controlled by PME; Hong Kong-registered Prime Cheer Corporation Ltd. (Prime) for being owned or controlled by Merchant; PRC-registered Pingtan Guansheng Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd. (Guansheng) for being owned or controlled by Prime; Fujian Heyue Marine Fishing Development Co., Ltd. (Heyue) for being owned or controlled by Guansheng; and Pingtan Fishing for being owned or controlled by Heyue.

Additionally, OFAC designated Honglong, pursuant to E.O. 13818, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, PME. Honglong, which is owned by Zhuo’s family, provided PME with millions of dollars’ worth of fuel and supplies for their vessels. PME and Honglong have used each other’s vessels to collateralize loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and PME claims exclusive operating rights to 20 of Honglong’s vessels.

OFAC also identified 78 vessels in which Pingtan Fishing has an interest and are therefore blocked property.

OFAC also identified 47 vessels in which Honglong has an interest and are therefore blocked property.

Concurrent with these actions, OFAC is issuing two general licenses (GLs), Global Magnitsky GLs 3 and 4. GL 3 authorizes U.S. persons to engage in certain transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to the wind down of financial contracts and other agreements related to PME, or the divestment or transfer of debt or equity of PME, which is currently listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange, to a non-U.S. person through 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time, March 9, 2023.

GL 4 authorizes U.S. persons to engage in transactions that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the wind down of transactions involving a vessel in which one or more of the blocked entities identified above have an interest, through 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time, March 9, 2023. For additional details, see GL 3 and GL 4, as well as adjoining FAQs 1100, 1101, and 1102.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or otherwise exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC’s Frequently Asked Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.

GLOBAL MAGNITSKY

Building upon the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, E.O. 13818 was issued on December 20, 2017, in recognition that the prevalence of human rights abuse and corruption that have their source, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States, had reached such scope and gravity as to threaten the stability of international political and economic systems. Human rights abuse and corruption undermine the values that form an essential foundation of stable, secure, and functioning societies; have devastating impacts on individuals; weaken democratic institutions; degrade the rule of law; perpetuate violent conflicts; facilitate the activities of dangerous persons; and undermine economic markets. The United States seeks to impose tangible and significant consequences on those who commit serious human rights abuse or engage in corruption, as well as to protect the financial system of the United States from abuse by these same persons.

Source : HomeTreasury

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FIFA and the World Health Organization (WHO) will mark International Human Rights Day on Saturday, 10 December by reinforcing the message that there is no place for discrimination of any kind, either in football or in society in general. During the FIFA World Cup quarter-final matches on 9 and 10 December, the #NoDiscrimination message will feature on giant screens and LEDs in stadium and, as during the whole of the tournament, on the captains’ armbands.

Discrimination – in all its possible forms and expressions – is one of the most common forms of human rights violations and abuse. It affects millions of people every day, stifling opportunities, harming physical and mental health, wasting human talent and accentuating social tensions and inequalities.

“Stigma and discrimination can be extremely harmful to mental and physical health and can prevent people from accessing the health services they need,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “WHO is proud to partner with FIFA on the No Discrimination campaign. Everyone has the right to health and fighting stigma and discrimination whenever and wherever they appear is essential for realising that right.”

WHO’s constitution, adopted in 1948, states that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, gender, political belief, economic or social condition.

Anti-discrimination has been a core principle in the implementation of new measures to transform FIFA since 2016. A policy of zero tolerance for racism and discrimination was incorporated into the FIFA disciplinary code in 2019, and FIFA has introduced a monitoring system to report incidents of discrimination at matches in FIFA competitions. A good practice has been provided for the 211 member associations, supported by the principles outlined in the FIFA Statutes (Article 4).

FIFA’s #NoDiscrimination campaign has been running throughout the FIFA World Cup and includes a ground-breaking monitoring and moderation service designed to protect players from abusive, discriminatory and threatening comments on social media.

The service – which was launched with the support of FIFPRO, the worldwide representative organisation of professional footballers – has been offered to every team and player taking part in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and is managed entirely on their behalf, ensuring they can focus on performing on the pitch rather than having to deal with social media abuse.

During the group stage of the tournament, the service automatically and instantly hid more than 100,000 abusive and offensive comments (including spam) on behalf of opted-in teams and players, while more than 6,000 posts were reported directly to social media companies for further action. This shows how online abuse remains an alarming issue for football players and all of society; its detrimental consequences to mental health and well-being should not be underestimated. A complete report will be published following the conclusion of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December, the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This proclaims the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Source : WHO

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On the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day and on the eve of International Human Rights Day, the United States is taking the following actions to promote accountability for corruption and human rights abuse around the world.  These actions include financial sanctions, using Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Act, and four additional country-focused Executive Orders.  The actions also include visa restrictions pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022 (Div. K, P.L. 117-103), as carried forward by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2023 (Div. A, P.L. 117-180) and pursuant to Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

All property and interests in property of individuals or entities designated under E.O.s 14024, 13818, 13722, 13687, or 13553 that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).  In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.  Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or otherwise exempt, all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited.  The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

Section 7031(c) provides that in cases where there is credible information that officials of foreign governments have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are generally ineligible for entry into the United States and must be either publicly or privately designated.  INA Section 212(a)(3)(C) provides grounds for the Secretary of State to exclude any alien whose entry he determines would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.

Actions Taken for Significant Corruption

El Salvador

Conan Tonathiu Castro Ramirez (Castro Ramirez), Presidential Legal Secretary

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Castro Ramirez for facilitating the cover-up of fraud by obstructing investigations into the misappropriation of public funds during the pandemic and for directly engaging in corrupt activities by using his office for personal financial gain.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is publicly designating Castro Ramirez for his involvement in significant corruption.  As part of this action, four immediate family members are also designated.

Oscar Rolando Castro (Castro), Minister of Labor

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Castro for engaging in corruption and misappropriating public funds for his personal benefit.  Rolando used aligned unions to benefit himself and political allies in exchange for express processing of union credentials, among other benefits.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Castro for his involvement in significant corruption.  As part of this action, an immediate family member is also designated.

Guatemala

Allan Estuardo Rodriguez Reyes (Rodriguez), Former President of Congress

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Rodriguez for using his political influence to award construction grants in exchange for financial kickbacks as well as offering bribes for votes on a bill in congress.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Rodriguez for his involvement in significant corruption.  As part of this action, one immediate family member is also designated.

Jorge Estuardo Vargas Morales (Vargas), Congressman

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Vargas for corruption related to contracts and operations at government-run ports. Vargas maintains influence at the port through bribery, creating blockades and strikes for personal profit.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Vargas for his involvement in significant corruption.  As part of this action, four immediate family members are also designated.

Luis Alfonso Chang Navarro (Chang), Former Minister of Energy and Mines

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Chang for using his position to secure kickbacks.  Chang solicited bribes and other favors in exchange for not revoking licenses.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Chang for his involvement in significant corruption.  As part of this action, two immediate family members are also designated.

Haiti

Romel Bell, Former Director General of the General Administration of Customs

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Romel Bell for abusing his public position by participating in corrupt activity that undermined the integrity of Haiti’s government.  As part of this action, one immediate family member was also designated.

Rony Celestin, Senator

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Rony Celestin for abusing his public position by participating in corrupt activity that undermined the integrity of Haiti’s government.  As part of this action, four immediate family members are also designated.

Mali

Karim Keita (Keita), Former President of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Keita, and one entity controlled by Keita, Konijane Strategic Marketing, for involvement in corruption.  Keita used his position as chairman of the National Assembly’s Security and Defense Commission to embezzle defense spending, secure bribes, and redirect contracts to his associates.  Additionally, Keita used defense funds to bribe other officials in support of the 2018 re-election of his father, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who is the former President of Mali.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Keita for misappropriation of public funds.  As part of this action, two immediate family members are also designated.

Ukraine

Pavlo Vovk (Vovk), Chairman of the Kyiv District Administrative Court

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Vovk for soliciting bribes in return for interfering in judicial and other public processes.  As part of this action, two immediate family members are also designated.

Action Taken Related to Human Rights Abuses and Violations

Azerbaijan

Kerim Heydar Alimardanov (Alimardanov), an official in the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime within the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs, known as the “Bandotdel”

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Alimardanov for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights, namely torture of detainees in 2015 and 2016.

Burundi

Alain Guillaume Bunyoni (Bunyoni), a former Burundian official

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Bunyoni for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)

Border Guard General Bureau (BGGB)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13687, which authorizes imposition of sanctions with respect to the DPRK, the Department of the Treasury is designating the BGGB for being an agency, instrumentality, or controlled entity of the Government of DPRK or the Workers’ Party of Korea.  DPRK state security agencies, including the BGGB, thwart escapes through tight border controls, including land mines and shoot-on-sight orders that have resulted in the deaths of numerous North Koreans.

Two DPRK-related individuals and Seven Entities

• Pursuant to E.O. 13722, which authorizes the imposition of sanctions with respect to the DPRK and Workers’ Party of Korea, the Department of the Treasury is designating two individuals as well as seven related entities for providing material support to, acting on behalf of, or being owned by the DPRK’s government-run animation studio, SEK Studio. The targets are:  Kim Myong Chol, based in France; Everlasting Empire Limited, based in Hong Kong; Tian Fang (Hong Kong) Holding Limited, based in Hong Kong; Fujian Nan’an Import and Export Company, based in China; Limited Liability Company Kinoatis, based in the Russian Federation; and Funsaga Pte Ltd, based in Singapore; Deepak Subhash Jadhav based in India; Yancheng Three Line One Point Animation Co., Ltd, based in China; Quanzhou Yiyangjin Import and Export Trade Co., Ltd., based in China.

Guinea

Alpha Conde (Conde), former president of Guinea

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Conde for his connection to serious human rights abuse.  During Conde’s tenure, Guinean security forces engaged in serious human rights abuse, including extrajudicial killings, in the context of political protests surrounding the March 22, 2020, legislative elections and constitutional referendum.

Indonesia

Godlief Mangkak Timbul Silaen (Silaen), former police chief of the then-East Timor region and commander of Indonesia’s Security Control Command

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Silaen for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights, namely the extrajudicial killing of civilians in East Timor (now Timor-Leste) in 1999.

Iran

Ali Akbar Javidian (Javidian), Kermanshah Province Commander of the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (LEF)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Javidian for his connection to serious human rights abuse.  During Javidian’s tenure members of the LEF used excessive force against protestors, resulting in extrajudicial killings.

Allah Karim Azizi (Azizi), warden of Rezaee Shah Prison

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Azizi for his connection to serious human rights abuse.  During Azizi’s tenure, prison guards have engaged in maltreatment of prisoners, including serious physical abuse.

Ebrahim Kouchakzaei (Kouchakzaei), LEF commander in Chabahar, in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan Province

• Pursuant to E.O. 13553, which authorizes the imposition of sanctions with respect to serious human rights abuses by the Government of Iran, the Department of the Treasury is designating Kouchakzaei for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Iran’s LEF.  He is the alleged perpetrator of a rape of a 15-year-old girl in mid-September 2022.

Mohammed Reza Ostad (Ostad), warden of Bushehr Prison

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Ostad for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely the cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of prisoners.

13 Iranian government officials

• Pursuant to INA Section 212(a)(3)(C), the Department of State is also taking action to impose visa restrictions on 13 current and former Iranian government officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the abuse, detention or killing of peaceful protestors or inhibiting their rights to freedom of expression or peaceful assembly, including through censorship via a country-wide internet shutdown in Iran.

People’s Republic of China (PRC)

Wu Yingjie (Wu), Party Secretary of Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Wu for his connection to serious human rights abuse in Tibet.  As the TAR’s Party Secretary from 2016 to October 2021, Wu directed government officials in the region to engage in “social stability” policies, which led to serious human rights abuse, including physical abuse and arbitrary arrests and detentions.

Zhang Hongbo (Zhang), director of the Tibetan Public Security Bureau (TPSB)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Zhang for his connection to serious human rights abuse in Tibet.  Zhang has been the director of the TPSB since 2018 through at least November 2022.  He has worked to advance the PRC’s goals and policies in Tibet as “Tibet’s police chief.”  During Zhang’s tenure, the TPSB engaged in serious human rights abuse, including arbitrary detention and physical abuse.
• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Zhang for gross violations of human rights, namely arbitrary detention of Tibetans, which also amount to particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

Tang Yong (Tang), former deputy director of the Chongqing Area Prisons in the PRC

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Tang for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely arbitrary detention of Falun Gong practitioners, which also amount to particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

Li Zhenyu (Li)

Zhuo Xinrong (Zhuo)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Li and Zhuo as well as a network of entities including Dalian Ocean Fishing Co., Ltd. (Dalian) and Pingtan Marine Enterprise, Ltd. (Pingtan), and over 150 vessels for their connection to serious human rights abuse.  Dalian- and Pingtan-owned and -operated vessels engaged in forced labor, involving withheld pay, physical violence, abusive working and living conditions, and meager food and water, which contributed to the deaths of crew members.

Peru

José Carlos Bertarelli Rodríguez (Rodríguez), a former commander of the Ayacucho Intelligence Detachment in Peru

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Rodríguez for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely torture between 1983 – 1985.

Philippines

Apollo Quiboloy (Quiboloy)

• Pursuant to E.O. 13818, the Department of the Treasury is designating Quiboloy for his connection to serious human rights abuse. As the founder of the Philippines-based church, Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name (KOJC), Quiboloy took advantage of his leadership role within the KOJC to engage in a pattern of systemic and pervasive rape and other physical abuse involving minors as young as 11 years old from 2006 to at least 2020.

The Russian Federation

Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (Russia’s CEC)

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of the Treasury is designating Russia’s CEC alongside its 15 members.  In September 2022, Russia’s CEC helped oversee and monitor sham referendums held in areas of Russia-controlled Ukraine that were rife with incidents of clear voter coercion and intimidation.  Additionally, Russia’s CEC conducts and oversees federal and local elections in Russia, including referendums.  For years, Russia’s CEC has touted as clean and transparent elections in Russia that have been riddled with irregularities and credible accusations that the Kremlin has carefully managed the results.

Lyudmila Nikolaevna Zaitseva (Zaitseva)

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, , the Department of State is designating Zaitseva, under Section 1(a)(ii)(F), for being responsible for or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, activities that undermine the peace, security, political stability, or territorial integrity of the United States, its allies, or its partners for or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, directly or indirectly, the Government of the Russian Federation.  Zaitseva was reportedly implicated in human rights abuses against civilians in Ukraine, specifically the kidnapping and forced relocation of children from Ukraine.

Ochur-Suge Terimovich Mongush (Mongush)

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of State is designating Mongush, under Section 1(a)(vi)(B), for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14024. Mongush was reportedly implicated in human rights abuses against civilians in Ukraine, specifically torture.

Oleg Yuryevich Nesterov (Nesterov), Russian Federation Presidential Administration official

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of the Treasury is designating Nesterov for being directly involved in the planning for and implementation of filtration points in Russia-controlled Ukraine.

Yevgeniy Radionovich Kim (Kim), Russian Federation Presidential Administration official

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of the Treasury is designating Kim for being directly involved in the planning for and implementation of filtration points in Russia-controlled Ukraine.

Marina Konstantinovna Sereda (Sereda)

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of the Treasury is designating Sereda for working with the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Ministry of Internal Affairs to manage filtration points in Russia-controlled Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.

Aleksey Valentinovich Muratov (Muratov), Official of the so-called DNR

• Pursuant to E.O. 14024, the Department of the Treasury is designating Sereda for coordinating filtration point operations with so-called DNR leader Denis Pushilin.  In particular, Muratov has spearheaded the procurement of necessary equipment and technology to support filtration points in Russia-controlled Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.

Sri Lanka

Prabath Bulathwatte (Bulathwatte), former head of a clandestine Sri Lankan Army platoon, known as the “Tripoli Platoon,”

• Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Bulathwatte for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights, namely torture and/or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of Sri Lankan journalist, Keith Noyahr, in May 2008.

Vietnam

• Vo Thanh Dung (Vo), former warrant officer at the Lagi Police Station Pursuant to Section 7031(c), the Department of State is designating Vo for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights, namely torture, in January 1987.

Source : State.Gov

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