[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 125 (Tuesday, October 10, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H9586-H9589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CALLING FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF MR. EDMOND POPE FROM PRISON IN RUSSIAN
FEDERATION
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 404) calling for the immediate
release of Mr. Edmond Pope from prison in the Russian Federation for
humanitarian reasons, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 404
Whereas Mr. Edmond Pope of State College, Pennsylvania, is
a husband, father, grandfather, son, and United States
businessman;
Whereas Edmond Pope has visited the Russian Federation 27
times in order to foster better business and university-based
research relationships;
Whereas Edmond Pope traveled to the Russian Federation in
late March 2000 in order to purchase commercially advertised
underwater propulsion technology, as stated in his visa
approved by the Government of the Russian Federation;
Whereas Edmond Pope was arrested on April 3, 2000, in
Moscow, imprisoned in Lefortovo, and charged with espionage;
Whereas the Russian who allegedly committed an act of
treason by aiding Edmond Pope was released and has been
living with his family;
Whereas Edmond Pope has been treated for
hemangiopericytoma, a rare form of cancer, that was in
remission prior to his travel;
Whereas Edmond Pope's father is dying of multiple myeloma,
a type of bone cancer that can be hereditary;
Whereas Edmond Pope should receive routine medical care by
a qualified, trained professional in order to monitor the
possibility of a recurrence of cancer due to his high-risk
potential;
Whereas Edmond Pope has missed his annual monitoring visit
resulting in a 14 month lapse since his last visit;
Whereas Edmond Pope's prison conditions have caused a
dramatic loss in weight and his physical stature has
deteriorated;
Whereas Edmond Pope has been denied the basic human right
of proper medical attention deserving of an individual in his
condition;
Whereas two Americans have died in the past few months
within prisons in the Russian Federation and another
individual has recently died in Lefortovo;
Whereas Edmond Pope has been unjustly arrested and detained
for more than 5 months, preventing him from celebrating his
30th wedding anniversary and the marriage of his son, and
during which time his mother-in-law passed away;
Whereas recent events have shown that trials in the Russian
Federation involving alleged violations in the area of
national security can take several years;
[[Page H9587]]
Whereas it is unlikely that Edmond Pope would survive a
lengthy trial; and
Whereas United States business and academic interests with
the Russian Federation are beginning to be detrimentally
impacted by this event: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That--
(1) the Congress calls on the Russian Federation, under the
leadership of President Vladimir Putin, to immediately
release Mr. Edmond Pope of State College, Pennsylvania, and
to ensure that proper and qualified medical attention is
provided to him in order to ensure that another loss of life
does not occur in a prison in the Russian Federation;
(2) it is the sense of Congress that if Edmond Pope is not
released immediately the President should continue all
efforts afforded to the administration to secure his release,
including the consideration of--
(A) terminating all assistance to the Government of the
Russian Federation under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
and the annual Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and
Related Programs Appropriations Act for purposes of preparing
the Russian Federation's entrance or accession to the World
Trade Organization (WTO); and
(B) opposing any further debt relief of obligations owed to
the United States Government from the Government of the
Russian Federation; and
(3) the President should increase efforts to secure
appropriate medical attention for Edmond Pope.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr.
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
General Leave
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
on H. Con. Res. 404.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, this resolution, House Concurrent Resolution
404, introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson),
supports Mr. Edmond Pope, an American citizen who has been jailed by
the Russian government for several months on the charge of espionage
that, by all accounts, is based on extremely dubious evidence. I
commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson) for his tireless
work on behalf of one of his constituents, Mr. Pope.
This resolution calls on the Russian government to immediately
release Mr. Pope and to ensure that he is provided proper medical
attention for the rare form of cancer with which he is afflicted.
Let me point out to my colleagues that Mr. Pope is a businessman and
that he has been to Russia many times over the past few years on
business trips.
I simply do not believe that the Russian government has proved its
case, particularly in light of the fact that a Russian citizen who
supposedly worked with Mr. Pope in the alleged espionage case has
already been released by the Russian government.
This resolution makes it abundantly clear that, if Mr. Pope is not
released, the President of the United States should continue to seek
his release and should consider terminating all assistance that our
Nation provides to the Russian government under our Foreign Assistance
Act for purposes of preparing Russia to enter the World Trade
Organization.
{time} 2030
It also calls on our President to refuse further debt relief for the
Russian Government if it does not release Mr. Pope.
My colleagues, the actions of the Russian Government in this case do
not appear to be those of a country interested in proper treatment of
businessmen and investors. I believe it is, therefore, appropriate to
send this message in the form of a nonbinding resolution that we expect
a nation that wants to be part of an international trade organization,
that wants debt relief, and that wants more American investment to
treat our American businessmen appropriately.
I would point out to my colleagues that over the past few years our
government has reportedly arrested several Russian spies here in our
Nation, some under diplomatic cover and others operating without it. I
understand we have allowed those Russian spies in recent years to
return home to Russia, even when our FBI believed them to be career
members of the Russian intelligence agencies. Even when a Russian
espionage device was found in our State Department headquarters itself,
we sent the so-called diplomat back home.
We are all aware of the reports that Russian spying conducted here in
our Nation and from espionage facilities, such as the one at Lourdes,
Cuba, is today at record levels. It is ironic, Mr. Speaker, that Russia
would arrest and imprison for months an American businessman who may
very well be innocent, all the while conducting espionage against us at
records that exceed those of the Cold War.
Mr. Speaker, I support this nonbinding resolution and I urge my
colleagues to adopt it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this
resolution.
Mr. Pope was arrested in Russia on April 3, 2000, while negotiating
the purchase of an underwater propulsion technology which was
advertised for commercial use. Mr. Speaker, I submit Mr. Pope is not a
spy. His Russian visa states that the purpose of the trip to Russia was
to acquire such technology.
It is outrageous, Mr. Speaker, that Mr. Pope has been languishing at
the Lefortovo prison, the former KGB stronghold, for nearly 6 months
now. Mr. Pope has been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer which
requires annual screening and which he has missed this past August
because of his arrest.
His health may be getting worse, but the Russians refuse access to
him by a qualified Western oncologist. The Russian authorities have
said that the Russian doctors are capable of examining Mr. Pope, and
based on that examination, they supposedly say he is fit to stand
trial.
Mr. Speaker, this case has been discussed at the highest levels of
the American and Russian governments. Our own President, President
Clinton, has raised this issue with President Putin several times now,
most recently at the U.N. Millennium Summit in New York City. At every
opportunity, the Russians have been told the charges against Mr. Pope
are groundless and they must let him come home to his family.
I share some of the State Department concerns about the call in the
resolution for cutting all foreign assistance to Russia, which includes
denuclearization assistance and support for democratic institutions and
independent media. I would hope that the administration could
effectively utilize policy levers short of this drastic step to achieve
Mr. Pope's release.
We should at least commend our good friend and colleague, the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson), for doing such a fantastic
job supporting Mr. Pope's family in support of this resolution, and I
urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson).
Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the
chairman for yielding me this time. I appreciate the very strong
support we have had from the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman); the
ranking member, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson); as well
as the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), who has been
such a good friend; and I want to thank the staff who have worked so
hard on this issue. I also want to thank the leadership and the
majority leader, who have personally helped me at every turn.
Mr. Speaker, this has been one of the most difficult issues I have
ever dealt with. Let us just think about it for a moment. For 11 days,
Edmund Pope
[[Page H9588]]
has been in a Russian prison. If my colleagues have not been in a
Russian prison, I was there a few months ago. It is no place to be.
He went over there in March on his 27th trip to do business. He was
arrested on April 3 and thrown in prison. For 13 weeks, his wife never
received a note from him, a phone call from him or any word. He never
received one of her letters that she sent daily. Between two countries
that have normal relations in business, a prisoner never heard from his
family or was allowed to communicate with his family for 13 weeks.
In June, Cheri Pope, his wife, and two of my staff went to Russia.
They found out he did not have a competent lawyer, a 73-year-old lawyer
that was not considered good; and so they were able to hire him a good
lawyer who has been very helpful and who started to build a case. It
was not long before he found out that there was no real case against
Edmund Pope. In fact, the Russians had never even told us what the case
was about; it was just that he had committed espionage.
On August 5, his son was married in State College without his father.
Then a little later, in August, Cheri Pope, his wife, and I and two of
my staff returned to Russia. We were able to elevate this issue to an
international issue. Before that it had not been well covered by the
press. It was obvious then. And after we arrived there and made it an
issue, the Russians finally responded and said, well, he was purchasing
this Squall technology, which had been advertised for sale in 1996 and
had been sold to other countries, we are told.
The FSB, who finally gave these details, is like combining our FBI,
our Secret Service, our CIA, and whatever else, and all combined into
one. It is the most powerful agency in Russia, and they have been in
control. This was Ed's 27th visit there. He had had many business
partnerships there. He had brought many scientists from Russia to
Pennsylvania, to Penn State. Had taken many groups of scientists to
Russia to help them in their trying to build a free economic system. He
loved the Russians, told all his neighbors and friends that I have
talked to. He was very fond of the Russians and wanted them to have
economic opportunity like we have here.
For 17 months, Ed Pope has not had adequate health screenings. Edmund
Pope, a number of years ago, was diagnosed with bone cancer. It has
been arrested. He should, from the cancer experts we have talked to,
have MRI and CT scan screenings every 6 months. It has been 17 months
now since he has had any screenings.
In August we had a hearing; and in September we had a hearing on a
health-related release, and he was turned down. They had the appeal to
the hearing and asked for him to be seen by an American doctor and have
the appropriate test and again was turned down. It is now approaching
mid-October and Edmund Pope has still not had the health screenings
that he needs.
If we get Edmund Pope out tomorrow, he may have reactivated cancer
and he will have a very shortened life. We are still asking every day
for routine cancer screening. It is available 7 miles from his prison
in a Russian facility with adequate doctors to read the scans, and we
again ask for that.
We know that from talking to his attorney and others there, the FSB-
appointed judge will find him guilty whenever this trial is held. They
will be given a predetermined verdict. I do not think we in America
realize how a jury trial and the chance to defend ourselves is so basic
a fundamental to the rule of law. In Russia, we are told the FSB knows
how to frame people, but they do not know how to convict people. If it
was a jury trial, his lawyer says, he would be innocent in a moment. As
soon as the trial was held, he would be declared innocent and proven
that he is innocent. But Edmund Pope will not get that chance.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Congress today for their support of
this resolution and sending a strong message to this administration to
continue every effort they can put forward. Edmund Pope needs to have
health screenings so that we know his cancer is still in arrest. We
need to know that he has not contracted TB, which is prevalent in
Russian prisons. He has had a cough every time we have spoken to him.
We are asking for health care first and then his timely release. It is
time to get Ed Pope home.
I guess just in conclusion, Mr. Speaker, Edmund Pope is a good man, a
great American, served his country valiantly, been a good businessman,
and been good for the Russians; been good for economic relationships
with them; helped them partner in many business deals and commercialize
other kinds of technologies they had and helped do some partnerships
that helped in health care and opticals. Russia should have a lot of Ed
Popes helping them to build their economy and become part of the global
economy.
They need to resolve this issue so we can become friends, work
together, and not be enemies.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume to compliment again my colleague from Pennsylvania. I think it
is a good example of a demonstration of what every Member should be
doing for their constituents, and I want to commend him for that.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Smith), our distinguished chairman of our Subcommittee on
International Operations and Human Rights.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me this time.
First of all, I rise in very strong support of the Peterson
resolution, H. Con. Res. 404, calling for the immediate release of
Edmund Pope from prison in the Russian Federation based on humanitarian
reasons.
I think it is very important that the chairman of the House Committee
on International Relations and the ranking member, the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr.
Gejdenson), have moved very quickly on this resolution to bring it to
the floor and before our colleagues because this is a very, very
important resolution of humanitarian concern.
This resolution calls for the immediate release of Mr. Pope, an
American citizen arrested for allegedly spying in Russia and, as we
know, in prison now in Moscow since early April of this year. Mr. Pope
has been arrested for trying to purchase so-called secret technology
that had already been advertised for commercial sale.
Mr. Speaker, I would be the first to agree that countries are
entitled to protect sensitive information or state secrets; but the
case against Mr. Pope is without merit. When we consider that the
Russian Government has already released the alleged co-conspirator in
this case, it is difficult to understand why Mr. Pope is considered
such a danger.
As the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson) so passionately and
eloquently pointed out, Mr. Pope is seriously ill and the Russian
Government has not permitted an American physician to even visit him,
which one might expect on simple humanitarian grounds.
Mr. Speaker, the Russian Government recently announced that the Pope
case has been turned over to the court. This may look like progress,
but experience tells us otherwise. When we look at the long drawn out
case of Alexandr Nikitin, for whom it took 4\1/2\ years to prove his
innocence on trumped-up charges of espionage, I believe it is unlikely
Mr. Pope would survive a lengthy judicial process.
Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Government has repeatedly raised this case with
the Russian Government. Why are they not listening? At a recent hearing
of our Committee on International Relations, our Secretary of State,
Madeleine Albright, reiterated her conviction this case should be
resolved quickly in Mr. Pope's favor.
Finally, I would note that in connection with this case, a Moscow
radio station stated that the Russian security service often considers
principles of humanity in deciding whom to release. It seems no other
person in Russia today fits that definition. This man is sick, he is
innocent, and he needs to be released.
[[Page H9589]]
Again, I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson)
for his great leadership on this case.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Walden), and I want to also thank the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Smith) for his eloquent response to this important issue.
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding
me this time, and I thank both the chairman and the subcommittee
chairman for their work in bringing this measure forward; and to my
colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson), I thank him
for his tireless efforts in trying to seek Mr. Pope's release.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge support for H. Con. Res. 404 and
make clear our message to the Russian Government. Edmund Pope must be
released from prison, and he must be released immediately. Mr. Pope's
deteriorating health simply will not wait for the Russian Government to
accept what we in this country have long known: that Ed does not
deserve his imprisonment and that the Russian Government cannot justify
holding him one day longer.
For 191 days, Ed Pope has been denied his freedom. For 191 days, he
has been denied regular contact with his wife of 30 years and his
children. And for 191 days, he has been denied access to basic medical
care, despite grave threats to his health.
{time} 2045
In an age when the access to adequate shelter and medical care is
correctly viewed as humanity at its most fundamental level, Ed has been
forced to endure deprivations that are downright abysmal.
The prison where Mr. Pope is being held is a grim reminder of a
system of government that for too long has subordinated human rights.
Ed Pope's harsh imprisonment illustrates Russia's continued hostility
to the West, despite its repeated assurances that Russia wants to join
the ranks of the world's civilized nations.
I am dismayed by President Putin's squandering of an opportunity to
demonstrate to the nations of the world that a new Russia has indeed
risen from the ashes of the old Soviet Union, a nation that values
human rights and the rule of international law. But until Mr. Pope is
released and the judicial system in Russia improves, this
transformation will be incomplete.
If the question of Mr. Pope's guilt or innocence is to be debated, it
must only be after he is allowed access to the medical care his
condition demands. With the release of Ed Pope, President Putin can
demonstrate that he is serious about eliminating the distrust and
hesitation that has characterized U.S. and Russian relations for
decades. Or he can continue to prolong Ed's unjust captivity and
reinforce the negative image of Russia, that of a secretive, enigmatic
state whose journey to first world status remains long.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for H.Con.Res. 404 and
declare in no uncertain terms that the United States does not tolerate
the treatment of its citizens in this manner.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Peterson) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) for their diligent
efforts on behalf of Mr. Pope. We are pleased to join with them.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
404.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was
agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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