Federation Council speaker Sergei Mironov said on Thursday that Russia may respond to the European Parliament's decision to impose sanctions against Russian officials over the death of a detained lawyer.
On Tuesday, the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee voted unanimously to ban entry to the EU for 60 officials allegedly involved in the death of whistleblower lawyer Sergei Magnitsky last year. The full house is expected to vote on it next month.
"I think the European Parliament's decision is not what we need," Mironov said. "You know what follows such decisions: sanctions are imposed so we will respond," he continued. "Who will benefit from that? No one will."
"This method prejudices the possibility for free entry," Mironov said adding that this is not something that should occur when countries want normal relations.
Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachyov said the committee is due to discuss the move on Thursday.
Magnitsky, who was defending UK investment company Hermitage Capital Management against tax evasion charges, died aged 37 in a Moscow prison last November after being refused medical treatment for pancreatitis.
Kosachyov said he was "deeply disappointed and shocked" by the European Parliament's move.
He warned that it "may have negative consequences for Russia-EU relations," calling the move "an open domination of political reasons over legal awareness."
Magnitsky's death triggered an international row last year amid concerns that his imprisonment could have been politically motivated.
MOSCOW, November 25 (RIA Novosti)
