美国将克里姆林宫首席调查官员和其他6人加入制裁名单

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia's top investigator and four other Kremlin figures Monday for what the State Department calls "notorious human rights violations."

The five Russians, along with two other men with alleged ties to Hezbollah, were sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act.

U.S. officials did not say exactly what the seven are being sanctioned for. But State Department spokesman John Kirby said, "Each of the most recently added names was considered after extensive research."

Kirby said the five Russians played "roles in the repressive machinery of Russia's law enforcement systems, as well as individuals involved in notorious human rights violations."

They include Alexander Bastrykin, who is believed to be the Kremlin's top investigator and leads the crackdown on dissenters.

The 44 people now on the list are barred from entering the United States and their U.S. assets are frozen. U.S. citizens are forbidden from carrying out any financial transactions with them.

The Magnitsky Act was named for Russian anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in 2009 after spending a year in prison and in poor health.

Russian investigators ruled there was nothing criminal in Magnitsky's death.

But the State Department alleges there is plenty of evidence to show Magnitsky was beaten in his jail cell, and his illnesses went untreated.