[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 58 (Thursday, March 30, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 145--CALLING FOR THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF RUSSIAN 
  OPPOSITION LEADER VLADIMIR KARA-MURZA, WHO WAS UNJUSTLY DETAINED ON 
                             APRIL 11, 2022

  Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
Ricketts, Mrs. Shaheen, and Mr. Risch) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 145

       Whereas Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza (referred to in 
     this preamble as ``Mr. Kara-Murza'') has tirelessly worked 
     for decades to advance the cause of freedom, democracy, and 
     human rights for the people of the Russian Federation;
       Whereas, in retaliation for his advocacy, two attempts have 
     been made on Mr. Kara-Murza's life, as--
       (1) on May 26, 2015, Mr. Kara-Murza fell ill with symptoms 
     indicative of poisoning and was hospitalized; and
       (2) on February 2, 2017, he fell ill with similar symptoms 
     and was placed in a medically induced coma;
       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 responsible for 
     poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and 
     activists Timur Kuashev, Ruslan Magomedragimov, and Nikita 
     Isayev;
       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, 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, 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 April 11, 2022, five police officers arrested 
     Mr. Kara-Murza in front of his home and denied his right to 
     an attorney, and the next day Mr. Kara-Murza was sentenced to 
     15 days in prison for disobeying a police order;
       Whereas, on April 22, 2022, the Investigative Committee of 
     the Russian Federation charged Mr. Kara-Murza with violations 
     under the law signed on March 5, 2022, for his fact-based 
     statements condemning the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian 
     Federation;
       Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza was then placed into pretrial 
     detention and ordered to be held until at least June 12, 
     2022;
       Whereas, if convicted of those charges, Mr. Kara-Murza 
     faces detention in a penitentiary system that human rights 
     nongovernmental organizations have criticized for widespread 
     torture, ill-treatment, and suspicious deaths of prisoners;
       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 alleged 
     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, on October 6, 2022, the Investigative Committee of 
     the Russian Federation charged Mr. Kara-Murza with high 
     treason on the grounds that he cooperated with a North 
     Atlantic Treaty Organization member nation, which was 
     corroborated by the public speeches he delivered in the 
     United States, Portugal, and Finland;
       Whereas, on March 3, 2023, in response to bipartisan 
     requests from Congress, the United States Government imposed 
     sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
     Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) on three Russian 
     individuals, Elena Anatolievna Lenskaya, Andrei Andreevich 
     Zadachin, and Danila Yurievich Mikheev, for their involvement 
     in the unjust detention of Mr. Kara-Murza; and
       Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza's attorney reported that his 
     client's health deteriorated to the point that he was unfit 
     to attend his hearing on March 16, 2023, as Mr. Kara-Murza 
     was being treated for polyneuropathy, a condition that he 
     sustained from poison attacks on May 26, 2015, and February 
     2, 2017: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the unjust detention and indicting of Russian 
     opposition leader Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza, who has 
     courageously stood up to oppression in the Russian 
     Federation;
       (2) expresses solidarity with Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-
     Murza, his family, and all individuals in the Russian 
     Federation imprisoned for exercising their fundamental 
     freedoms of speech, assembly, and belief;
       (3) urges the United States Government and other allied 
     governments to work to secure the immediate release of 
     Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza, Alexei Navalny, and other 
     citizens of the Russian Federation imprisoned for opposing 
     the regime of Vladimir Putin and the war against Ukraine; and
       (4) calls on the President to increase support provided by 
     the United States Government for those advocating for 
     democracy and independent media in the Russian Federation, 
     which Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza has worked to 
     advance.

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