[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 181 (Thursday, November 2, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5344-S5345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1360. Mr. SCHUMER (for Mr. Cardin) proposed an amendment to the 
concurrent resolution 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; as follows:
       Strike the preamble and insert the following:
       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

[[Page S5345]]

     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 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
                                 ______