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

<DOC>
                                                        Calendar No. 52
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, Mr. Wicker, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
 Kaine, Mr. Markey, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Coons, Mr. Hickenlooper, and Mr. 
  Menendez) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

                              May 4, 2023

  Reported by Mr. Menendez, with an amendment and an amendment to the 
                                preamble
[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
      [Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                         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
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, on February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin launched another unprovoked, 
        unjustified, and illegal invasion into Ukraine in contravention of the 
        obligations freely undertaken by the Russian Federation to respect the 
        territorial integrity of Ukraine under the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, 
        the Minsk protocols of 2014 and 2015, and international law;
Whereas, since February 24, 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza has used his voice and platform 
        to join more than 15,000 citizens of the Russian Federation in 
        peacefully protesting the war against Ukraine and millions more who 
        silently oppose the war;
Whereas, on March 5, 2022, Vladimir Putin signed a law criminalizing the 
        distribution of truthful statements about the invasion of Ukraine by the 
        Russian Federation and mandating up to 15 years in prison for such 
        offenses;
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 independent investigations conducted by Bellingcat, the Insider, and Der 
        Spiegel found that the same unit of the Federal Security Service of the 
        Russian Federation responsible for poisoning Mr. Kara-Murza was also 
        responsible for poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and 
        activists Timur Kuashev, Ruslan Magomedragimov, and Nikita Isayev;
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, on May 26, 2022, the United States Senate unanimously agreed to Senate 
        Resolution 632 (117th Congress) calling for the immediate release of Mr. 
        Kara-Murza, Alexei Navalny, and other citizens of the Russian Federation 
        imprisoned for opposing the regime of Vladimir Putin and the war against 
        Ukraine;
Whereas, on July 27, 2022, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation 
        charged Mr. Kara-Murza for his engagements with Free Russia Foundation 
        and Open Russia, both of which are nongovernmental organizations 
        targeted by the law of the Russian Federation on undesirable 
        organizations;
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'' due to his public condemnations of the Kremlin's 
        military aggression on Ukraine and domestic repressions;
Whereas, on April 17, 2023, Mr. Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison, 
        one of the highest sentences given to any Russian opposition figure;
Whereas, since Mr. Kara-Murza's arrest, the state of his 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 incarceration;
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;
Whereas, in April 2023, 81 Members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of 
        State Anthony Blinken urging that Mr. Kara-Murza be designated under the 
        Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act 
        (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.) as ``unlawfully and wrongfully detained''; 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--
        <DELETED>    (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms the 
        unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian democratic opposition 
        leader Vladimir Kara-Murza;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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.</DELETED>
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, 
        including Alexei Navalny, 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 stance in front of the Arizona 
        House of Representatives in March 2022;
            (4) expresses solidarity with 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.




                                                        Calendar No. 52

118th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                             S. CON. RES. 7

_______________________________________________________________________

                         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.

_______________________________________________________________________

                              May 4, 2023

      Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble