The UK is imposing sanctions on 49 people and organizations against the human rights abuses of recent years.

Individuals involved in the death of Russian attorney Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 will have their UK assets frozen and will be banned from entering the country, BBC reported.

Russia said the sanctions were "pointless".

"Russia reserves the right to respond to today's unfriendly decision by the UK on the basis of reciprocity," the Russian embassy in London noted, adding that the move "will not improve Russian-British relations".

According to the BBC, individuals and organizations subject to immediate sanctions are:

•           25 Russian nationals involved in the mistreatment and death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who uncovered corruption by Russian tax and police officials

•           20 Saudi nationals involved in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul

•           Two high-ranking Myanmar military generals involved in the systematic and brutal violence against the Rohingya people and other ethnic minorities

•           Two organizations involved in forced labor, torture and murder in North Korea's gulags