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OTTAWA — Canada is taking aim at corruption and rights abuses in Russia, Venezuela and South Sudan by imposing targeted sanctions on 52 individuals, including Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

It is the first use of the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, the so-called Magnitsky law which won final approval in Parliament two weeks ago.

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The law allows for sanctions against individuals who the federal government holds responsible for, or complicit in, gross violations of internationally recognized human rights or acts of significant corruption.

The legislation, like that of other countries, including the United States, is linked to the Russian whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Moscow prison in 2009 after accusing officials of a $230-million tax fraud.

The first sanctions under that act are aimed at 30 individuals tied to Russia, 19 Venezuelan officials, including Maduro, and three individuals from South Sudan.