Amanda Strayer
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amandalstrayer.bsky.social
Amanda Strayer
@amandalstrayer.bsky.social
Human rights lawyer @HumanRights1st doing all things #Magnitsky sanctions. Co-author of bit.ly/magnitskyat5. @GeorgetownLaw. Views my own.
The Trump admin's sanctions on Brazilian justice Alexandre de Moraes support impunity for political allies under the guise of protecting press freedom.

Globally, journalists are facing the highest rate of killings ever recorded. How about starting there. humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...
Human Rights First Deplores Use of Global Magnitsky Sanctions to Support Impunity for Political Allies - Human Rights First
Washington, D.C. – Human Rights First regrets that the Trump administration’s first use of Global Magnitsky sanctions, which targeted the Brazilian Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes for allege...
humanrightsfirst.org
July 31, 2025 at 9:20 PM
This is why the Trump admin should not have ended sanctions against violent Israeli settlers. The U.S. govt should reinstate sanctions against Yinon Levi following reports he killed Palestinian journalist Awdah Hathaleen in the West Bank yesterday. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
Wave of condemnation after killing of Palestinian activist in West Bank
Israeli soldiers raid mourning tent after death of Awdah Hathaleen, who helped make Oscar-winning No Other Land
www.theguardian.com
July 29, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
🚨 NEW: The Trump admin sanctioned four ICC judges in a brute-force attempt to bully the court over its investigations into Palestine & Afghanistan.

Our statement: humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...
Human Rights First Condemns Deepened U.S. Attack on International Criminal Court - Human Rights First
Washington D.C. — Human Rights First condemned the Trump administration’s action today imposing financial sanctions on four International Criminal Court (ICC) judges who have issued rulings over the l...
humanrightsfirst.org
June 5, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
BREAKING: We’re suing the Trump administration on behalf of #ICC attorney and U.S. Army veteran Eric Iverson, challenging its dangerous misuse of sanctions that threaten war crimes accountability and violate fundamental rights. Read more👇
Human Rights First Sues Trump Administration Over Sanctions Threatening U.S. Prosecutor at International Criminal Court - Human Rights First
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Human Rights First has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of the International Criminal Court (ICC) trial attorney and U.S. Army veteran Eric Iverson, challe...
humanrightsfirst.org
May 5, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
Glad to testify @houseforeign.bsky.social on how U.S. human rights & humanitarian leadership bolsters American security, prosperity & well-being. Downgrading human rights & anti-TIP experts & eliminating offices that negotiate peace, fight GBV, and pursue war criminals — does exactly the opposite.
Happening now: our CEO @uzraz.bsky.social will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the importance of an empowered, authorized State Department to advance peace, stability, and human rights. Tune in here: foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/the-...
The Need for an Authorized State Department - Committee on Foreign Affairs
Hearing Notice
foreignaffairs.house.gov
May 1, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
Happening now: our CEO @uzraz.bsky.social will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the importance of an empowered, authorized State Department to advance peace, stability, and human rights. Tune in here: foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/the-...
The Need for an Authorized State Department - Committee on Foreign Affairs
Hearing Notice
foreignaffairs.house.gov
April 30, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
Today we joined @aclu.org and @nyclu.org in an amicus brief to protect the 1st Amendment rights and interests of civil society groups that advocate for U.S. human rights and corruption sanctions.

Read more: humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...
Human Rights First Joins ACLU and NYCLU in Amicus Brief to Protect First Amendment Rights and Interests of NGOs Advocating for U.S. Sanctions - Human Rights First
New York – Today, Human Rights First, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) filed an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Distr...
humanrightsfirst.org
April 25, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
Today @humanrights1st launched a new comparative chart on how Magnitsky-style sanctions are used to hold human rights abusers & corrupt actors accountable in the U.S., U.K., EU, Canada, and Australia. Learn more: humanrightsfirst.org/library/what...
What abuses and corrupt acts can be sanctioned in different Magnitsky jurisdictions? - Human Rights First
By Nina Moraitou-Politzi Targeted financial sanctions have become a key tool in holding perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and acts of corruption to account, while also helping deter others fr...
humanrightsfirst.org
April 17, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
Not surprised that it turns out Rogán’s removal from the OFAC list is illegal. According to Senators @shaheen.senate.gov and @warren.senate.gov this wasn’t just a whopsie-daisy — it was a direct violation of U.S. sanctions law. But sure, let’s keep pretending this is all normal.
Ranking Members Shaheen and Warren Express Deep Concern Following Sanctions Reversal for Corrupt Hungarian Official | United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking...
www.foreign.senate.gov
April 19, 2025 at 6:27 AM
“Today’s action sets a damaging precedent that will entice every other sanctioned oligarch, kleptocrat, money launderer, and criminal to line up for their turn at relief next.” @adamofkeith.bsky.social on today’s unjustified delisting of a Hungarian official from the GloMag sanctions list.
April 15, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
“The U.S. should be holding Bukele’s government accountable, but instead the Trump admin is cozying up to & copying Bukele’s authoritarian playbook — rounding up people with no evidence, denying them any due process & disappearing them in abusive Salvadoran prisons indefinitely.”
April 15, 2025 at 12:13 AM
85K people in El Salvador have been detained in abusive prisons without due process in just 3 years. What happened in the Oval Office today was a clear promise from Trump and Bukele to defy US courts and wrongfully send even more people to indefinite detention there. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/u...
El Salvador’s President Says He Won’t Return Maryland Man Who Was Wrongly Deported (Gift Article)
An Oval Office meeting between President Trump and President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador was a blunt example of Mr. Trump’s defiance of the federal courts.
www.nytimes.com
April 14, 2025 at 9:09 PM
The United States should be holding Bukele’s govt accountable for serious violations. Instead, the Trump admin is cozying up to and copying Bukele’s authoritarian playbook - rounding up people with no evidence, denying them any due process, and disappearing them in Salvadoran prisons indefinitely.
April 11, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
While multilateral #Magnitsky sanctions are ideal, sometimes countries must use them independently to ensure accountability for human rights abuses & corruption. That's why we & @redress.org are asking the #UK to build on its leadership in using such sanctions.
Letter to the FCDO Regarding the Need to Increase Global Leadership in Accountability for Human Rights Abuses and Corruption Through Targeted Sanctions - Human Rights First
A letter to the UK Minister of State on behalf of Human Rights First and REDRESS recommending that the United Kingdom build on existing leadership in the use of targeted human rights and anticorruptio...
humanrightsfirst.org
April 4, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
Let this sink in.

The lawyers of US greencard holder Mahmoud Khalil have not been able to have A SINGLE PHONE CALL with their client since he was arrested on Saturday night. Today, the court had to order that Khalil be allowed calls.

This is not normal. www.cnn.com/2025/03/12/u...
Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil will remain in ICE detention in Louisiana after first court hearing | CNN
Prominent Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil will remain in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana for now following a procedural hearing in New York, days after he was arrested by federal officials ...
www.cnn.com
March 12, 2025 at 9:30 PM
In our latest periodic report, @humanrights1st.bsky.social tracked how the U.S. gov't used #Magnitsky-style sanctions and visa restrictions to hold human rights abusers and corrupt actors accountable in the second half of 2024. humanrightsfirst.org/library/us-g...
U.S. GLOBAL MAGNITSKY AND RELATED SANCTIONS End of Year Update 2024 - Human Rights First
This briefing provides an overview of recent developments in the U.S. government’s use of its targeted human rights and anticorruption sanctions programs from July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024. Downl...
humanrightsfirst.org
March 12, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
The Treasury Dept announced it is no longer enforcing a key provision to fight money laundering in the bipartisan Corporate Transparency Act. This rolls back progress in combating corruption and offers criminals a safe harbor in the United States. thefactcoalition.org/treasury-reo...
Treasury Reopens the Floodgates to Dirty Money in the U.S.
The Treasury Department’s decision to limit reporting requirements under the landmark Corporate Transparency Act to only foreign entities is a boon for fentanyl traffickers, domestic criminals, and ta...
thefactcoalition.org
March 4, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
The morning after another night of Russian missile attacks on Kharkiv, #Ukraine, locals react with fury after Trump & Vance attacked President Zelenskyy at yesterday’s press conference in DC. Our Sr Advisor @dooleydooley.bsky.social reports from Kharkiv: humanrightsfirst.org/library/khar...
March 1, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
Yesterday, President Trump issued an executive order to pause all enforcement of the FCPA. This is a betrayal of U.S. leadership in global anti-corruption efforts & sends a dangerous signal that bribery is back on the table.
U.S. pausing of foreign bribery enforcement will harm economies and…
U.S. pausing of foreign bribery enforcement will harm economies and governance worldwide
www.transparency.org
February 11, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
Follow us @humanrightsfirst.bsky.social to learn more about our work and learn how you can take action to defend civil and human rights.
Hi Bluesky 👋 We're Human Rights First, a nonprofit dedicated to defending global human rights. For almost 50 years, we have been advocating for the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum, human rights defenders, the preservation of democracy, and international accountability.
February 3, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Corruption demands accountability. Human Rights First recommends Global #Magnitsky sanctions against an Egyptian intelligence official & U.S. company for their alleged role in bribing fmr Sen. Menendez to ensure U.S. support for Egypt despite human rights abuses. humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...
Human Rights First Calls for Magnitsky Sanctions in Egyptian Bribery of Senator Menendez | Human Rights First
Washington, D.C. – Human Rights First today called on the U.S. government to impose targeted financial and visa sanctions on a senior Egyptian official and a U.S. company for their apparent involvemen...
humanrightsfirst.org
January 14, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Tomorrow Human Rights First’s @adamofkeith.bsky.social and Sir @billbrowder.bsky.social will testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the implementation of Global #Magnitsky sanctions. Watch it live at 10:30am here: www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/imp...
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GLOBAL MAGNITSKY LAWS | United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Full Committee Hearing on December 5, 2024 at 5:30 AM Additional witnesses may be added...
www.foreign.senate.gov
December 4, 2024 at 10:08 PM
Join Human Rights First on Nov. 21 for a #MagnitskyMonth panel on the Biden admin's use of #Magnitsky sanctions and what to expect in the coming years, with:

- Brad Brooks-Rubin, Arktouros
- Chloe Zoeller, PADF
- Natalia Kubesch, REDRESS

Register here: humanrightsfirst.org/events/2024-...
2024 Magnitsky Series | Human Rights First
Human Rights First and our partners in the targeted human rights and anti-corruption sanctions coalition lead “Magnitsky Month” to advocate for the expanded and improved multilateral use of Magnitsky-...
humanrightsfirst.org
November 20, 2024 at 5:44 PM
Reposted by Amanda Strayer
In our latest for @justsecurity.org, @amandalstrayer.bsky.social, Suchita Uppal & I argue that the U.S. gov't should extend the use of Global #Magnitsky sanctions to address all cases of #humantrafficking, including those without physical abuse. The examples are many - read below for more.
Recent Magnitsky #sanctions targeting human trafficking provide a model for accountability, write Nina Moraitou-Politizi, Amanda Strayer, & Suchita Uppal.

They encourage the current and incoming administrations to extend this model to other trafficking cases.
www.justsecurity.org/104756/human...
Sanctioning Human Trafficking Under the Global Magnitsky Program
U.S. sanctions under the Global Magnitsky program provide model to address labor trafficking, but more clarity is needed.
www.justsecurity.org
November 17, 2024 at 11:40 PM