Moscow, May 22 (IANS): Russia Wednesday called the extension of the so-called Magnitsky List drawn by the US as baseless, and vowed a retaliation.
"We do not leave sanctions rampage against Russia unanswered," Xinhua quoted the foreign ministry's human rights envoy Konstantin Dolgov as saying in a statement.
Moscow will introduce restrictions on US citizens in line with reciprocal principles as well as fairness, he said.
Russia, the official said, would sanction those who have avoided punishment by Washington for human rights violations, including those committed against Russian citizens.
Dolgov pointed out "numerous" cases of human rights violations in the United States, citing the Guantanamo prison as an example.
Washington Tuesday added 12 more Russians to the Magnitsky List, freezing their financial assets in the US banks and barring Americans from doing business with them.
Dolgov accused Washington of attempting to use "human tragedy" - - death of the Russian lawyer -- for "dirty political goals," adding the United States demonstrated false care of late Sergei Magnitsky who died in detention in 2009.
In 2013, a Russian court convicted Magnitsky of tax evasion, four years after his death.