[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 20, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S2526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Political Prisoners

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I rise for two reasons: one, for a 
very short comment on political prisoners in foreign lands, and the 
other one on how the CARES Act is developing and the reaction to it.
  First of all, our country is now hopefully recovering from COVID-19, 
so I want to take this opportunity to address the plight of an 
extremely vulnerable population--political prisoners abroad.
  In Turkey, Syria, China, and a lot of other countries, political 
prisoners remain locked away in crowded prisons without adequate 
medical care. The spread of COVID-19 among this population dramatically 
increases the risk of serious medical consequences or even death.
  Authoritarian regimes only risk further destabilization of their 
countries by jailing the innocent. Political prisoners ought to be 
released, and they ought to be released now.