[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 71 (Thursday, April 27, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1422]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 179--CONDEMNING THE WRONGFUL DETAINMENT OF UNITED 
STATES CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS BY THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, AND FOR OTHER 
                                PURPOSES

  Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Whitehouse, 
Mr. Coons, Mrs. Capito, and Ms. Murkowski) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 179

       Whereas the Constitution of the Russian Federation 
     guarantees the right to assemble, freedom from censorship, 
     and the freedom of speech and thought to its citizens;
       Whereas, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, 
     the Government of the Russian Federation has failed to 
     protect these ideals and has used the power of the state to 
     diminish the rights of Russians and others within its borders 
     and across the territories Russia unlawfully occupies;
       Whereas President Putin's regime has used the power of the 
     state to unlawfully detain individuals committed to fighting 
     corruption within the Russian Federation;
       Whereas President Putin's regime has unjustly targeted and 
     detained individuals such as Sergei Magnitsky, who provided 
     evidence that $230,000,000 had been stolen from the Russian 
     treasury by senior Russian officials;
       Whereas Sergei Magnitsky died at the age of 37 after being 
     denied critical medical care while being unjustly detained in 
     inhuman conditions;
       Whereas President Putin's regime also utilizes the power of 
     the state to target political opponents and repress freedom 
     of speech, thought, and expression;
       Whereas Alexey Navalny, a Russian opposition leader and 
     vocal critic of President Putin, has been unjustly detained 
     and subject to poisoning by the Kremlin;
       Whereas the Putin regime has also used its power to 
     unjustly detain citizens of the United States;
       Whereas United States citizen Paul Whelan is currently 
     serving a 16-year prison sentence after being wrongfully 
     detained by the Russian Federation for espionage;
       Whereas, following Paul Whelan's conviction on June 15, 
     2020, the Department of State released a statement demanding 
     his immediate release, and this statement continues to be 
     ignored by the Government of the Russian Federation;
       Whereas, on April 12, 2022, United States resident Vladimir 
     Kara-Murza was arrested for condemning Russia's war in 
     Ukraine and was charged with ``spreading deliberately false 
     information'' about the armed forces of Russia, which was 
     criminalized under a Russian law passed after the full-scale 
     invasion of Ukraine;
       Whereas, on April 17, 2023, Vladimir Kara-Murza was 
     convicted of treason and sentenced to 25 years in prison;
       Whereas additional United States citizens continue to be 
     detained in Russia for unjust cause, including American 
     journalist Evan Gershkovich;
       Whereas wrongful detention, as defined in section 302 of 
     the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking 
     Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 1741) and Department of State 
     guidance, covers the detention of United States nationals, 
     including lawful permanent residents (LPRs);
       Whereas, under section 302 of the Robert Levinson Hostage 
     Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 
     1741), the Secretary of State is required to review the cases 
     of United States nationals detained abroad to determine if 
     there is credible information that they are being detained 
     unlawfully or wrongfully and if this determination is made, 
     the Secretary is required to transfer responsibility for such 
     case from the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the Department of 
     State to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for 
     Hostage Affairs (SPEHA);
       Whereas a referral to SPEHA, pursuant to Executive Order 
     No. 14078 (relating to Bolstering Efforts To Bring Hostages 
     and Wrongfully Detained United States Nationals Home), allows 
     SPEHA to utilize additional tools not regularly available in 
     order to deter and disrupt hostage-taking and wrongful 
     detentions by imposing costs on terrorist organizations, 
     criminal groups, and other malicious actors who take hostages 
     for financial, political, or other gains and thus threaten 
     the integrity of the international political system and the 
     safety of United States nationals and other persons abroad;
       Whereas, on April 17, 2023, United States Ambassador to the 
     Russian Federation Lynne Tracy stated, ``The right to have 
     political opinions, or to disagree with the decisions of 
     one's own government, are fundamental freedoms enshrined in 
     both the Russian constitution and international treaties to 
     which Russia is a party.'';
       Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation, under the 
     leadership of President Putin, has clearly failed to uphold 
     the values guaranteed in the Russian constitution and the 
     international treaties the Russian Federation is party to;
       Whereas the actions of President Putin's regime, including 
     illegal detainments, military operations against sovereign 
     nation states, and attacks on political opponents, constitute 
     acts of international terrorism;
       Whereas, under chapter 113B of title 18, United States 
     Code, the term ``international terrorism'' means activities 
     that involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life 
     that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United 
     States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation 
     if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or 
     of any State, and appear to be intended--
       (1) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
       (2) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation 
     or coercion; or
       (3) to affect the conduct of a government by mass 
     destruction, assassination, or kidnapping;
       Whereas, at a minimum, the Government of the Russian 
     Federation's treatment of detained Americans, Russian 
     citizens, and others through inhuman prison conditions, 
     including the lack of medical care, and the lack of due 
     process constitutes a danger to human life which would be a 
     criminal violation in the United States and is clearly 
     intended to intimidate or coerce the free exercise of rights 
     available to individuals in the Russian Federation; and
       Whereas United States law authorizes the designation of 
     countries that have repeatedly provided support for acts of 
     international terrorism as state sponsors of terrorism: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) calls on the United States Government to designate 
     Vladimir Kara-Murza as wrongfully detained under United 
     States law;
       (2) condemns the wrongful detainment of all United States 
     citizens and residents by the Government of the Russian 
     Federation and demands their immediate release from such 
     detention;
       (3) stands with the people of Russia in their desire to 
     exercise freedom of speech and expression, without 
     retaliation by an oppressive regime;
       (4) demands that the Russian leadership be held accountable 
     for their inhumane and unjust actions against their own 
     citizens who want nothing less than to be represented by a 
     fair and just government; and
       (5) calls on the United States Government to immediately 
     designate the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of 
     terrorism under United States law.

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