[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 7 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 7

     Condemning Russia's unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian 
 opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza who has stood up in defense of 
   democracy, the rule of law, and free and fair elections in Russia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 23, 2023

    Mr. Cardin (for himself and Mr. Wicker) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
     Condemning Russia's unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian 
 opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza who has stood up in defense of 
   democracy, the rule of law, and free and fair elections in Russia.

Whereas, on April 11, 2022, Vladimir Kara-Murza was unjustly detained by Russian 
        authorities for spreading supposedly ``false information'' in a speech 
        in March 2022 to the Arizona House of Representatives;
Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza in his March 15, 2022, speech presented a defiant 
        condemnation of Vladimir Putin's policies and leadership outlining his 
        corruption and malign intentions, and condemning the illegal war of 
        aggression Putin has unleashed against Ukraine;
Whereas, prior to his arrest in April 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza was poisoned twice by 
        agents of the Russian Government and the Russian Federation in 2015 and 
        2017 with a military-grade agent banned internationally, likely in 
        retaliation for his defiant stance in support of rule of law and 
        democracy in Russia;
Whereas, despite having survived two assassination attempts and the subsequent 
        side effects of these poisonings, Mr. Kara-Murza regularly returned to 
        Russia to advocate for democratic representation in Russia;
Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza has consistently advocated for democracy in Russia and 
        insisted that democracy in Russia must be advanced by Russians for all 
        those living in Russia;
Whereas, in August 2022, new charges were brought against Mr. Kara-Murza for 
        ``carrying out the activities'' of an ``undesirable foreign 
        organization'' and his arrest was extended for his work as a leading 
        member of Russian civil society;
Whereas, in October 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza was further charged unjustly with 
        ``high treason'' in part due to his public condemnations of the 
        Kremlin's military aggression on Ukraine and domestic repressions;
Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza remains in pretrial detention and faces a prison sentence 
        of up to 24 years on high treason and other charges;
Whereas the state of Mr. Kara-Murza's health has deteriorated and in addition to 
        losing over 45 pounds, he was diagnosed with polyneuropathy, a condition 
        that under Russian law should preclude him from his current detainment;
Whereas, as a result of his diagnosis, he has lost feeling in both his feet and 
        has experienced symptoms similar to those he experienced following his 
        2015 poisoning due to peripheral nerve damage;
Whereas section 5599F of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act 
        for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117-263) condemned Mr. Kara-Murza's 
        unjust detention, expressed solidarity with Mr. Kara-Murza, his family, 
        and all individuals imprisoned in Russia for their beliefs, and urged 
        the United States and other ally governments to work to secure the 
        release of Mr. Kara-Murza and other citizens of the Russian Federation 
        imprisoned for opposition to Vladimir Putin's regime and his illegal war 
        in Ukraine;
Whereas, in April 2022, Vladimir Kara-Murza was presented the McCain Institute's 
        Courage and Leadership Award for his unwavering commitment to 
        fundamental values and his acts of selfless courage which have inspired 
        the world;
Whereas, in October 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza was awarded the Vaclav Havel Prize 
        honoring outstanding civil society action in defense of human rights;
Whereas the late Senator John McCain said Mr. Kara-Murza ``is a brave, 
        outspoken, and relentless advocate for freedom and democracy in Russia'' 
        and introduced Mr. Kara-Murza as ``a personal hero whose courage, 
        selflessness, and idealism I find awe-inspiring'';
Whereas, in March 2023, the Department of the Treasury and the Department of 
        State imposed Global Magnitsky and other targeted sanctions on six 
        Russians involved in Mr. Kara-Murza's ongoing arbitrary detention, 
        recognized his role as ``a major advocate for the adoption of Magnitsky-
        style sanctions authorities by the United States, Canada, European 
        Union, and United Kingdom to target human rights abusers and corrupt 
        actors in Russia'', and called for his immediate release; and
Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza remains a political prisoner and a victim of Vladimir 
        Putin's authoritarian state: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms the unjust and 
        arbitrary detention of Russian democratic opposition leader 
        Vladimir Kara-Murza;
            (2) calls on the Russian Federation to immediately release 
        Mr. Kara-Murza and all other Russian opposition leaders who are 
        detained as a result of their opposition to the Putin regime;
            (3) calls on all Russian citizens to outright condemn 
        Russia's illegal and unjust invasion of Ukraine in the spirit 
        of Mr. Kara-Murza's defiant opposition stance in front of the 
        Arizona House of Representatives in March 2022;
            (4) expresses solidarity and calls for the release of all 
        political prisoners in Russia and Belarus as well as Ukrainian 
        citizens illegally held as prisoners by Putin's regime in 
        violation of the rule of law as a result of their support for 
        liberal democratic values; and
            (5) calls on the President of the United States and leaders 
        from across the free world to work tirelessly for the release 
        of political prisoners in Russia and increase support for those 
        advocating for democracy in Russia as well as independent media 
        and civil society which Mr. Kara-Murza has worked to further.
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