[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3714-S3718]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 688--RECOGNIZING WIDENING THREATS TO FREEDOM OF THE 
PRESS AND FREE EXPRESSION AROUND THE WORLD, REAFFIRMING THE VITAL ROLE 
   THAT A FREE AND INDEPENDENT PRESS PLAYS IN COMBATING THE GROWING 
                        THREATS OF AUTHORITARIAN
ISM, MISINFORMATION, AND DISINFORMATION, AND REAFFIRMING FREEDOM OF THE 
   PRESS AS A PRIORITY OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IN PROMOTING 
DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND GOOD GOVERNANCE IN COMMEMORATION OF WORLD 
                    PRESS FREEDOM DAY ON MAY 3, 2024

  Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Schatz, and Mr. 
Van Hollen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 688

       Whereas the First Amendment to the United States 
     Constitution and various State constitutions protect freedom 
     of the press in the United States;
       Whereas Thomas Jefferson, who championed the necessity of a 
     free press for a thriving democratic society, wisely 
     declared, ``Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, 
     and that cannot be limited without being lost.'';
       Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations Universal 
     Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in Paris on December 10, 
     1948, states, ``Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion 
     and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions 
     without interference and to seek, receive and impart 
     information and ideas through any media and regardless of 
     frontiers.'';
       Whereas, in 1993, the United Nations General Assembly 
     proclaimed the third day of May of each year to be ``World 
     Press Freedom Day''--
       (1) to celebrate the fundamental principles of press 
     freedom;
       (2) to evaluate press freedom around the world;
       (3) to defend the media against attacks on its 
     independence; and
       (4) to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives 
     while working in their profession;
       Whereas the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 
     (Public Law 111-166) expanded the examination of the freedom 
     of the press around the world in the annual Country Reports 
     on Human Rights Practices published by the Department of 
     State;
       Whereas, on December 18, 2013, and December 18, 2019, the 
     United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 68/163 and 
     Resolution 74/157, respectively, on the safety of journalists 
     and the problem of impunity by unequivocally condemning all 
     attacks on, and violence against, journalists and media 
     workers, including torture, extrajudicial killing, enforced 
     disappearance, arbitrary detention, and intimidation and 
     harassment in conflict and non-conflict situations;
       Whereas the United States Government has used the Global 
     Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of 
     title XII of Public Law 114-328) to place targeted visa and 
     economic sanctions on individuals, including for their roles 
     in the targeted killings of journalists;
       Whereas, in an effort to combat attacks against 
     journalists, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in February 
     2021, announced the Khashoggi Ban, a policy allowing the 
     Department of State to impose visa restrictions on 
     individuals who, acting on behalf of a foreign government, 
     are believed to have been directly engaged in serious, 
     extraterritorial counter-dissident activities, including 
     activities that suppress, harass, surveil, threaten, or harm 
     journalists, activists, or other persons perceived to be 
     dissidents for their work;
       Whereas compiled data from Reporters Without Borders 
     provides alarming indications about growing divisions 
     resulting from the spread of disinformation with the 
     potential to weaken democratic societies;
       Whereas, as of December 14, 2023, according to Reporters 
     Without Borders, a total of 521 journalists were in prison 
     and 84 journalists were missing;
       Whereas Reporters Without Borders notes that punishments 
     against women journalists are increasing disproportionately, 
     with the number of women journalists in prison rising by 30 
     percent in 2022 and with most of the longest prison sentences 
     handed down against journalists in 2023 given to women;
       Whereas Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2024 report 
     marked the 18th consecutive year of decline in global 
     freedom, with an estimated 38 percent of the global 
     population living in countries deemed ``Not Free'';
       Whereas Freedom House's Freedom on the Net 2023 report 
     marked the 13th consecutive year of decline in global 
     internet freedom, with people in 55 of the 70 countries 
     covered facing legal repercussions for expressing themselves 
     online and people in 41 countries facing physical assaults or 
     death for their online commentary;
       Whereas infringement on freedom of expression, including 
     media freedom, has been one of the key drivers of declines in 
     global freedom over the last 50 years, according to Freedom 
     House, including attacks and prosecutions against 
     journalists, pressure on media outlets, repressive regulatory 
     and legal frameworks, internet shutdowns, efforts to 
     undermine strong encryption, and blocks on online sources of 
     information;
       Whereas journalists and media workers are being murdered, 
     imprisoned, attacked, and harassed around the world and the 
     Committee to Protect Journalists has reported that--
       (1) at least 99 journalists and media workers were killed 
     around the world during 2023, and at least 27 journalists 
     have been killed in 2024, as of May 15th;
       (2) approximately 320 journalists were imprisoned during 
     2023;
       (3) between September 1, 2013 and August 31, 2023, the vast 
     majority of murders of journalists occurred with impunity, 
     with nearly 80 percent of the perpetrators of 261 murders of 
     journalists facing no punishment; and
       (4) journalists and media outlets around the world have 
     been targeted by government actors with sophisticated spyware 
     products that pose a severe risk to their privacy and 
     security and the security of their sources and families;
       Whereas, according to PEN America, more than 339 writers 
     and public intellectuals, including columnists and editorial 
     journalists, were imprisoned across 33 different countries 
     during 2023;
       Whereas the censorship, victimization, and killing of 
     journalists around the world, particularly in conflict zones, 
     has obvious and profound implications for the ability of the 
     public, including the American public, to be informed, 
     including about conflicts with local, regional, and global 
     ramifications;
       Whereas, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of 
     Ukraine in February 2022, Reporters Without Borders has 
     documented attacks directly targeting journalists, 
     including--
       (1) the killing of 11 Ukrainian and accredited 
     international journalists and media workers by Russian armed 
     forces;
       (2) the torture by electric shock, beatings, and mock 
     executions of journalists working for the international 
     press;
       (3) the targeted kidnappings of journalists and their 
     families in occupied regions of Ukraine to put pressure on 
     their reporting;
       (4) the deliberate attacks targeting media facilities; and
       (5) the near universal censorship, imprisonment, or exile 
     of Russia's independent news media;
       Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists 
     and Reporters Without Borders, in the Ukrainian territory of 
     Crimea, Ukrainian journalists and bloggers have repeatedly 
     been threatened, arbitrarily arrested, and tortured for 
     resisting Russian occupation, such as the detentions and 
     imprisonments of Vladyslav Yesypenko Iryna Danylovych, Amet 
     Suleimanov, Asan Akhmetov, Marlen Asanov, Nariman Celal, 
     Oleksiy Bessarabov, Osman Arifmemetov, Remzi Bekirov, Ruslan 
     Suleimanov, Rustem Sheikhaliev, Server Mustafayev, Seyran 
     Saliev, Timur Ibragimov, Vilen Temeryanov, and Lutfiye 
     Zudiyeva;
       Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
     Ukrainian journalists Viktoria Roshchina, Iryna Levchenko, 
     and Dmytro Khilyuk remain in the custody of Russian forces 
     after their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022;
       Whereas journalists and media workers face heightened 
     dangers in Russia, such as harassment, repression, 
     censorship, and imprisonment, with 30 journalists and 4 media 
     workers imprisoned as of March 27, 2024, according to 
     Reporters Without Borders, including--
       (1) Evan Gershkovich, a United States citizen and reporter 
     with the Wall Street Journal, who has been wrongfully 
     detained on baseless espionage charges since March 29, 2023, 
     and faces up to 20 years in jail;
       (2) Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for 
     congressionally-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who 
     was arrested for violating Russia's ``Foreign Agents'' law 
     and has since been charged for violating Article 207.3 of 
     Russia's Criminal Code, which effectively criminalizes 
     reporting about Russia's war in Ukraine;
       (3) Ivan Safronov, a correspondent with Russian business 
     dailies Kommersant and Vedomosti, who was sentenced to 22 
     years in jail on treason charges in September 2022;
       (4) Sergey Mikhaylov, publisher of independent newspaper 
     Listok, who was arrested for allegedly spreading false 
     information about the Russian military in April 2022;
       (5) Mikhail Afanasyev, editor-in-chief of the online 
     magazine Novy Fokus, who was arrested and charged with 
     allegedly spreading

[[Page S3715]]

     false information about the Russian military in April 2022;
       (6) Novaya Gazeta, a landmark independent newspaper founded 
     in 1993, which--
       (A) suspended operations in Russia in March 2022 after 
     receiving warnings from the authorities citing Russia's 
     ``Foreign Agents'' law; and
       (B) was stripped of its print and online media licenses in 
     September 2022;
       (7) Meduza, a leading independent bilingual news website 
     based outside of Russia, which--
       (A) was designated by Russian authorities in January 2023 
     as an ``undesirable organization'' under the 2015 Undesirable 
     Organization Law; and
       (B) was banned from operating in the Russian Federation;
       (8) Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, an independent 
     nonprofit media outlet, which was designated by Russian 
     authorities in February 2024 as an ``undesirable 
     organization'' under the 2015 Undesirable Organization Law;
       (9) RusNews, an independent news website with few remaining 
     correspondents in Russia, whose journalists--
       (A) Maria Ponomarenko was sentenced to 6 years in prison 
     for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian 
     military on February 15, 2023, and is facing a second 
     criminal charge for alleged violation of prison rules;
       (B) Roman Ivanov was sentenced on March 6, 2024, to 7 years 
     in prison for allegedly disseminating false news on the war 
     in Ukraine;
       (C) Igor Kuznetsov, who has been in detention since 
     September 2021, was given a 3-year suspended sentence on 
     alleged extremism charges on March 20, 2024, and was given a 
     6-year prison term on April 5, 2024, for allegedly inciting 
     mass disturbances in group chats on Telegram;
       Whereas, Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Washington Post 
     contributing columnist and the winner of the 2024 Pulitzer 
     Prize for commentary--
       (1) has been imprisoned in Russia since April 2022 for his 
     criticism of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine; and
       (2) received an unjust 25-year prison sentence in April 
     2023;
       Whereas Russian authorities continue harassing and 
     prosecuting journalists in exile, according to the Committee 
     to Protect Journalists, including--
       (1) exiled Russian journalists Ruslan Leviev and Michael 
     Nacke, who were each sentenced in absentia to 11 years in 
     prison in August 2023 for allegedly distributing ``fake'' 
     information about the Russian military;
       (2) exiled Russian journalist Denis Kamalyagin, editor-in-
     chief of the exiled Russian newspaper Pskovskaya Guberniya, 
     who was charged in late 2023 with failing to comply with the 
     foreign agent law and with discrediting the Russian army;
       (3) United States-based Russian-American journalist and 
     writer Masha Gessen, against whom Russia issued an arrest 
     warrant in 2023 for allegedly spreading ``fake'' information 
     about the Russian army;
       Whereas other Russian journalists living in exile have also 
     been targets of harassment, surveillance, and suspected 
     poisoning, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
     including--
       (1) exiled Russian journalists Elena Kostyuchenko and Irina 
     Babloyan, who reported in August 2023 that they may have been 
     poisoned in Germany and Georgia, respectively;
       (2) Prague-based IStories' reporters Alesya Marokhovskaya 
     and Irina Dolinina, who received threats and fear they have 
     been under surveillance;
       (3) Galina Timchenko, the Latvia-based head of Meduza, 
     whose phone was infected by Pegasus, a form of zero-click 
     spyware produced by the Israeli company NSO Group, while she 
     was in Germany in February 2023;
       Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
     as of December 1, 2023, the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China had detained at least 44 journalists, and 
     has unleashed an onslaught of attacks on press freedom in the 
     People's Republic of China and Hong Kong, including through--
       (1) state-sponsored censorship and disinformation campaigns 
     limiting access to any information that runs contrary to 
     Chinese Communist Party propaganda narratives, and censoring 
     politically-sensitive keywords on social media platforms;
       (2) the passage and implementation of legislation that 
     severely curtails press freedom in Hong Kong, including the 
     National Security Law of June 2020, and Article 23 of the 
     Basic Law of March 2024, both of which pose an existential 
     threat to the city's tradition of press freedom;
       (3) harassment, intimidation, arrest, and imprisonment of 
     journalists in Hong Kong, including the arrest and subsequent 
     conviction of journalist and outspoken democracy advocate 
     Jimmy Lai, and the closure of his once widely popular 
     Chinese-language newspaper, Apple Daily;
       (4) arrests or other repressive actions against independent 
     journalists and others in mainland China who are attempting 
     to share uncensored news or opinion about current affairs, 
     including--
       (A) Sophia Huang Xueqin, who has written about women's 
     rights and the protests in Hong Kong, who was detained 
     arbitrarily beginning in September 2021, who went on trial in 
     September 2023 on charges of ``inciting subversion of state 
     power'', and whose current status remains unknown; and
       (B) citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, who provided uncensored 
     news regarding the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan and who has 
     been imprisoned since May 2020 on politically-motivated 
     charges of ``picking quarrels and provoking trouble'';
       (5) the detention of journalists critical of the Government 
     of the People's Republic of China, including Ruan Xiaohuan, 
     who, after blogging about programming and politics, was 
     sentenced to a 7-year term of imprisonment in early 2023, 
     following 21 months of detention; and
       (6) the continued detention of Uyghur journalists, who 
     account for nearly 50 percent of imprisoned journalists in 
     the People's Republic of China, including Ilham Tohti, 
     founder of the news website Uighurbiz, who was detained in 
     2014 and is serving a life sentence;
       Whereas Belarus has witnessed sweeping attacks against the 
     press since Alexander Lukashenka's fraudulent election in 
     August 2020, with journalists and media workers harassed, 
     assaulted, and imprisoned, with 28 journalists imprisoned as 
     of December 1, 2023, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists, including--
       (1) Katsiaryna Andreyeva, a correspondent with Poland-based 
     independent broadcaster Belsat TV, who, while serving a 2-
     year prison term for filming a live broadcast of the violent 
     dispersal of a protest against Alexander Lukashenka in 
     November 2020, was sentenced to 8 additional years in prison 
     on treason charges in July 2022;
       (2) Ksenia Lutskina, a former correspondent for the state 
     broadcaster Belteleradio, who was sentenced to 8 years in 
     prison on charges of conspiring to seize state power in 
     September 2022, and who is not receiving appropriate medical 
     care despite having a preexisting brain tumor that has grown 
     during her detention;
       (3) Maryna Zolatava, chief editor of independent news 
     website Tut.By, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison on 
     charges of incitement to hatred and distributing materials 
     calling for actions aimed at harming national security in 
     March 2023;
       (4) Andrey Kuznechyk, a journalist who, while working for 
     Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was detained in November 
     2021, and sentenced in June 2022 to 6 years in prison on 
     charges of forming an extremist group;
       (5) Ihar Losik, another Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 
     journalist who was arrested in June 2020, and sentenced in 
     December 2021 to 15 years in jail on bogus charges of 
     preparation of actions that violate public order, who 
     attempted suicide in March 2023, and whose wife Darya was 
     sentenced in January 2023 to 2 years in prison on a charge of 
     facilitating extremist activity;
       (6) Alyaksandr Mantsevich, who was detained in March 2023, 
     and is serving a 4-year prison sentence after being convicted 
     in November 2023 on charges of discrediting Belarus;
       (7) Dzianis Ivashyn, a freelance journalist who has been 
     serving a sentence of 13 years and 1 month since being 
     convicted in September 2022, on charges of treason and 
     ``illegal collection and dissemination of information about 
     private life''; and
       (8) Ihar Karnei, a former freelancer with Radio Free 
     Europe/Radio Liberty, who was sentenced on March 22, 2024 to 
     3 years in jail for participating in an extremist group;
       Whereas Belarus has weaponized ``extremism'' laws against 
     independent media outlets, with around 25 media outlets 
     labeled as extremist groups or organizations as of March 
     2024, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and 
     has jailed journalists on allegations of creating or 
     participating in extremist groups or facilitating extremist 
     activities;
       Whereas Belarusian authorities continue to prosecute 
     journalists in exile, including exiled journalists Stsypan 
     Putsila and Yan Rudzik, who had covered protests during the 
     2020 presidential election and were sentenced in absentia to 
     20 years and 19 years in jail, respectively, in May 2023, 
     according to the Committee to Protect Journalists;
       Whereas, in 2022, the Islamic Republic of Iran was the 
     world's leading jailer of journalists, including female 
     journalists, and the Government of Iran subjected these 
     journalists to arbitrary summonses, arrests, travel bans, 
     torture, inhumane treatment, and unsubstantiated and unjust 
     sentences, and where, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists, at least 17 journalists and media workers 
     remained behind bars as of December 1, 2023, including--
       (1) Niloofar Hamedi, a correspondent of the daily newspaper 
     Shargh, who was imprisoned in 2022 for trying to document the 
     death of Mahsa Amini on charges that could result in the 
     death penalty;
       (2) Elahe Mohammadi, a journalist for the daily Ham Mihan, 
     who was also imprisoned in 2022 for the same action and on 
     the same charges;
       (3) Iranian journalist Navid Seyed-Mohammadi, a Kurdish 
     reporter for the state-run Islamic Republic Radio and 
     Television broadcaster, who was arrested in May 2020 and is 
     serving a 7-year prison sentence for ``espionage for hostile 
     states'';
       (4) Kayvan Samimi, a 76-year-old veteran journalist, who 
     was initially imprisoned in May 2019 and is serving a 6-year 
     prison sentence on anti-state charges of ``spreading 
     propaganda against the system'' and ``colluding against 
     national security'';
       (5) sisters Hoda and Zahra Tohidi, who are freelance 
     journalists, and were imprisoned in 2022 alongside Zahra's 
     husband, Alireza Khoshbakht, a fellow journalist, for 
     documenting the nationwide protests after the death of Mahsa 
     Jina Amini; and

[[Page S3716]]

       (6) Mohammad-Bagher Moradi, an exiled freelance journalist, 
     who was extradited to Iran from Turkey, was immediately 
     imprisoned in 2022 for his work, and is serving a 5-year 
     prison sentence;
       Whereas, since the beginning of the Hamas-led attack on 
     Israel on October 7, 2023, at least 105 journalists and media 
     workers have been killed during the ongoing war in Gaza, 
     Lebanon, and Israel, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists, and other significant attacks on the press have 
     been documented, including according to Reporters Without 
     Borders, the killing of at least 22 journalists in direct 
     connection to their work;
       Whereas the Government of Egypt's repression of the media 
     has expanded under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi since 2013, 
     and, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists and 
     Reporters Without Borders, has included--
       (1) attacks on independent media outlet Mada Masr, which 
     the Egyptian Government has targeted with specious charges 
     brought against editor-in-chief Lina Attalah and journalist 
     Rana Mamdouh; and
       (2) the imprisonment of at least 13 journalists, as of 
     December 1, 2023, including--
       (A) Alaa Abd El Fattah, a blogger who was sentenced to 5 
     years in prison for ``broadcasting false news'' and who 
     embarked on a hunger strike on April 2, 2022, to protest his 
     mistreatment, which he escalated to a near-fatal ``water 
     strike'' that prompted a forced medical intervention by 
     prison officials upon the start of the United Nations COP 27 
     climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on November 6, 2022; 
     and
       (B) Mohamed Ibrahim, a blogger who is also known as 
     ``Mohamed Oxygen'', who has spent more than 4 years in 
     pretrial detention, which is 2 years beyond the legal limit 
     for a pre-trial detention;
       Whereas, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
     Lokman Slim, a Lebanese political commentator and columnist, 
     was murdered in southern Lebanon on August 4, 2023, after 
     warning that he had been threatened and accused of treason by 
     supporters of Hezbollah and, as of the date of the enactment 
     of this resolution, no arrests or charges have been made in 
     the investigation into his murder;
       Whereas the Office of the Director of National Intelligence 
     concluded that the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist 
     and United States legal permanent resident Jamal Khashoggi in 
     Istanbul was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin 
     Salman and impunity continues for the Saudi officials 
     involved in this crime;
       Whereas the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia maintains a hostile 
     environment towards journalists through transnational 
     repression, systematic and arbitrary arrests, torture and 
     inhumane or degrading treatment, lengthy pre-trial 
     detentions, and conditional release restrictions, which 
     inhibit reporters and columnists from traveling or returning 
     to their professional work post-detention, including--
       (1) Abdulrahman Farhana, a columnist who was detained in 
     February 2019, and charged with membership in a terrorist 
     organization, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists;
       (2) Zuhair Kutbi, a journalist who was jailed in January 
     2019, and reportedly suffers from torture, malnourishment, 
     and denial of cancer treatment in prison, according to the 
     Committee to Protect Journalists; and
       (3) blogger Raif Badawi, who, according to Reporters 
     Without Borders, recently completed a 10-year prison sentence 
     on blasphemy and apostasy charges, and who remains subjected 
     to a further 10-year travel ban, which prevents him from 
     reuniting with his family who received asylum in Canada;
       Whereas Reporters Without Borders has asserted that due to 
     oppression by the military junta, ``press freedom in [Burma] 
     has been set back ten years in ten days'' after the February 
     1, 2021 military coup, including through--
       (1) media workers forced into hiding and confronting 
     censorship, harassment, internet blockages, beatings, 
     interrogations, threats, and torture at the hands of the 
     military;
       (2) multiple independent media outlets forced to cease 
     operations or close altogether or having their licenses 
     revoked by the military; and
       (3) journalists being detained at alarming rates, with 75 
     journalists in prison as of April 17, 2023, including 
     photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike, who was sentenced to a 20-
     year prison term in May 2023 while covering the aftermath of 
     a deadly cyclone;
       Whereas, in India, government authorities have taken a 
     series of actions limiting the space for free and independent 
     media, including--
       (1) frequently imposing internet and communication 
     blackouts in Indian-administered Kashmir and in the Indian 
     state of Manipur, among certain areas;
       (2) calling for the temporary blockage of journalists and 
     media accounts on X (formerly known as ``Twitter'') and other 
     online platforms;
       (3) increasing restrictions on foreign journalists, and 
     subjecting journalists to searches and arrests, according to 
     the Committee to Protect Journalists, including--
       (A) revoking the journalism permit of French reporter 
     Vanessa Dougnac, who, as the spouse of an Indian citizen, 
     holds permanent residency status, known as an Overseas 
     Citizens of India, forcing her to leave the country in 
     February 2024;
       (B) the continued detention of Kashmiri journalist Aasif 
     Sultan since April 2018, including his re-arrest for the 
     third time by Indian authorities in February 2024, days after 
     his release from five and one-half years of preventative 
     detention;
       (C) the June 2022 arrest of Teesta Setalvad, a journalist 
     and civil rights activist, by the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the 
     Gujarat Police, for allegedly conspiring to implicate the 
     Gujarat government in the 2002 Gujarat riots, and who has 
     since faced legal harassment and arbitrary detention over the 
     last year for her work; and
       (D) the Government of India's efforts to censor the British 
     Broadcasting Corporation's documentary critical of prominent 
     Indian political figures;
       Whereas Pakistan maintains high levels of media censorship, 
     and impunity persists in cases of killings and physical 
     attacks on journalists who criticize the military and state 
     institutions, including--
       (1) the repeated arrest of journalist Imran Riaz Khan, 
     including his arbitrary detention in solitary confinement 
     without due process for 142 days in 2023, according to 
     Reporters Without Borders;
       (2) the July 1, 2022 assault of Ayaz Amir, an employee of 
     Dunya News, which occurred days after he had made comments 
     criticizing former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the 
     military, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists; 
     and
       (3) the February 2024 arrest of Pakistani journalist and 
     video blogger Asad Ali Toor on charges of orchestrating a 
     campaign against the state and its officials against them 
     through his social media platforms, according to the 
     Committee to Protect Journalists;
       Whereas Afghanistan, under the control of the Taliban, 
     remains one of the most repressive countries for journalists, 
     who are subjected to arrest, beatings, and arbitrary 
     restrictions on their work, including journalist Sultan Ali 
     Jawadi, who was sentenced to 1 year in prison by a Taliban 
     court in December 2023, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists;
       Whereas violations of press freedom are persistent in South 
     Asia and Southeast Asia, where, according to the Committee to 
     Protect Journalists--
       (1) in Vietnam, journalist and writer Pham Doan Trang, in 
     December 2021, following a year in pretrial detention, was 
     sentenced to 9 years in prison for ``anti-state propaganda'' 
     in a judicial proceeding, which imprisonment has been 
     declared ``arbitrary'' by the United Nations Working Group on 
     Arbitrary Detention;
       (2) in Bangladesh, journalists are subjected to arbitrary 
     arrests and suffer killings and physical attacks with near 
     total impunity;
       (3) in Sri Lanka, the enactment of the recent draconian 
     Online Safety Act, which undermines freedom of speech, 
     incentivizes self-censorship, and could be misused to 
     suppress dissent;
       Whereas Cuba remains a highly restricted environment for 
     independent media, marked by internet restrictions and 
     constant state-directed harassment of journalists and news 
     outlets, and the preponderance of arbitrary arrests, threats, 
     police summonses, and forced exile, which remain among the 
     repressive suite of measures applied by the government 
     against activists and journalists, with victims including 
     Lazaro Yuri Valle Roca, a journalist who was sentenced to 5 
     years in prison for ``enemy propaganda and resistance'' in 
     July 2022, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
     evidence the Government of Cuba continues to employ 
     retaliatory tactics to silence and jail journalists or force 
     them into exile to maintain its censorship regime;
       Whereas assaults on press freedom in El Salvador, including 
     verbal attacks on journalists by political leaders and the 
     use of state power to intimidate and pressure independent 
     media, imperil its fragile democracy, and, according to the 
     Committee to Protect Journalists and the Knight First 
     Amendment Institute, include--
       (1) spyware attacks by the Government of El Salvador 
     against journalists of the media outlet El Faro, who were 
     subject to 226 infections between June 2020 and November 
     2021, many of which attacks occurred when the journalists 
     were communicating with confidential sources and reporting on 
     abuses by the Salvadoran Government, and which intensified 
     around El Faro's publication of major stories;
       (2) the ongoing criminal investigation against El Faro, 
     which was launched after El Faro reported damaging 
     information about the Salvadoran Government, and the 
     relentless harassment by Salvadoran law enforcement officials 
     toward El Faro journalists, which led the media outlet to 
     relocate most of its operations to Costa Rica following 
     harassment by Salvadoran police;
       (3) the online attacks and threats to journalists from the 
     outlet Revista Factum, which has been banned from press 
     conferences at the presidential residence; and
       (4) the adoption of a new law that imposes prison sentences 
     ranging from 10 to 15 years for certain reporting on criminal 
     groups, such as gangs;
       Whereas in Mexico, which continues to be one of the world's 
     deadliest countries for journalists, 25 journalists are 
     counted as missing, according to Mexico's National Human 
     Rights Commission, and where the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists has recorded 88 killings of journalists and media 
     workers since 2012, of which 37 were murdered in response to 
     their reportage, and where reporters covering stories 
     concerning political corruption and organized crime are 
     frequently assaulted and murdered;

[[Page S3717]]

       Whereas Haiti is the second deadliest country in the 
     Western Hemisphere for journalists, with 9 journalists killed 
     since 2022, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists, following a steady uptick of violence in the 
     country, including violence against the press, as the 
     country's security situation continues to deteriorate 
     following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, 
     with violence claiming the lives of--
       (1) Garry Tesse, a Haitian radio reporter who reported on 
     political and government corruption and was believed to be 
     tortured and killed in retaliation for his reporting; and
       (2) Dumesky Kersaint, a journalist for an online news 
     outlet who was killed while attempting to cover another 
     killing in his community;
       Whereas in Nicaragua, the persecution of journalists by the 
     Ortega regime continues unabated, including through forced 
     closures of independent media outlets, and journalists in the 
     country are continually threatened, harassed, sued, 
     surveilled, jailed, and forced into exile, according to the 
     Committee to Protect Journalists, includes--
       (1) Miguel Mendoza, who, along with 6 other journalists and 
     media workers, was among the group of 222 political prisoners 
     released by Nicaraguan authorities in February 2023, sent to 
     the United States, and subsequently stripped of their 
     Nicaraguan citizenship; and
       (2) journalist Victor Ticay, who was arrested in April 
     2023, in connection to his April 5, 2023 reporting about a 
     Catholic Easter celebration;
       Whereas Honduras remains one of the Western Hemisphere's 
     most dangerous countries for journalists, where those working 
     for opposition media or who are outspoken critics of the 
     government are subjected to harassment, intimidation, and 
     death threats by the country's security forces and its 
     affiliates;
       Whereas in Peru, criminal defamation lawsuits, legislation, 
     and restrictive accreditation schemes for journalists that 
     undermine freedom of expression have been used to harass and 
     silence investigative journalists who write about prominent 
     political figures, and the unlawful state repression of 
     protestors has also increased the risk to journalists 
     covering ongoing social unrest in Peru, as corroborated by 
     the wounding of several journalists by rubber pellets and 
     tear gas canisters in police and military operations 
     throughout 2022 and 2023, which have been condemned by 
     international organizations as violating international 
     standards on the use of force, according to the Committee to 
     Protect Journalists and Amnesty International;
       Whereas in Ecuador, a group of presumed gang members 
     stormed a local news station in Guayaquil on January 9, 2024, 
     during a live broadcast, which evinces the country's 
     worsening security condition amid organized crime activity 
     that, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
     forced at least 5 journalists to leave Ecuador between April 
     and October 2023;
       Whereas in Venezuela, the Maduro regime continues to target 
     independent media outlets, to restrict the exercise of 
     freedom of expression, and to severely limit access to 
     accurate information, with local civil society organization 
     Public Space (Espacio Publico) registering 349 attacks on 
     journalists and media workers between January and November 
     2023, including censorship, verbal attacks, and intimidation;
       Whereas in Sudan, the United Nations Panel of Experts 
     reported that at least 15,000 people died as a result of the 
     Rapid Support Forces offensive in West Darfur in 2023, tens 
     of thousands more people are believed to have been killed, 
     and more than 8,000,000 people have been displaced, and where 
     freedom of the press and the safety of journalists has 
     severely deteriorated, as evidenced by attacks on independent 
     media and the killings, arrests, detentions, harassment, and 
     beatings of journalists, which, according to the Committee to 
     Protect Journalists, includes--
       (1) the killing of Halima Idris Salim, a 29-year-old 
     reporter for local independent online news outlet Sudan 
     Bukra, on October 10, 2023, when Rapid Support Forces 
     soldiers ran her over with their car while she was covering 
     health conditions of a hospital's emergency wing in Omdurman;
       (2) reports that the Rapid Support Forces has cut access to 
     telecommunications and internet services since early February 
     2024, leaving civilians in a communications blackout and 
     making reporting on the war nearly impossible; and
       (3) the forced closure of all print media in the country, 
     the banning of foreign news channels, and forcing journalists 
     into exile;
       Whereas press freedom continues to face challenges in sub-
     Saharan Africa, including--
       (1) in Ethiopia, which, according to the Committee to 
     Protect Journalists, is the second-worst jailer of 
     journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, and where a crackdown on 
     the press has included--
       (A) an entrenched pattern of arbitrarily detaining 
     journalists, with at least 8 journalists behind bars as of 
     December 2023;
       (B) significant due process and fair trial concerns in the 
     cases of detained journalists, such as the May 2023 arrest of 
     online journalist Gobeze Sisay in neighboring Djibouti and 
     subsequent transfer to Ethiopia under unclear circumstances;
       (C) the detention of journalists arrested under state of 
     emergency provisions at a military camp in eastern Ethiopia 
     without judicial oversight or access to family or legal 
     counsel;
       (D) the use of Internet disruptions during times of 
     political tension or in restive parts of the country, 
     including the Oromia and Amhara regions, making it difficult 
     for journalists to report safely and freely;
       (E) the failure to provide a credible accounting for the 
     2021 killings of journalists Dawit Kebede Araya and Sisay 
     Fida;
       (F) the consistent persecution of media trying to cover the 
     conflict and violence in the Oromia and Amhara regions, 
     including the detention of at least 6 journalists, as of 
     March 27, 2024, who were reporting on events in Amhara, 
     according to Reporters Without Borders; and
       (G) the forced exile and deportation of independent 
     journalists;
       (2) in Nigeria, where journalists have been repeatedly 
     detained and charged for their work, according to the 
     Committee to Protect Journalists and PEN America, including--
       (A) Luke Binniyat, who was arrested in November 2021, 
     released on bail in February 2022, and is facing 3 years in 
     prison if convicted of sending false information under the 
     Cybercrimes Act;
       (B) Agba Jalingo, publisher of the CrossRiverWatch news 
     site, who was arrested on March 27, 2023, charged under the 
     Cybercrimes Act for allegedly publishing false news, and 
     released on bail on April 3, 2023;
       (C) Haruna Mohammed Salisu, publisher of the WikkiTimes, 
     who was arrested while covering the February 25, 2023 Federal 
     elections, charged under the penal code with inciting the 
     public to disturb the Bauchi state governor, released on bail 
     on March 1, 2023, and faces ongoing prosecution in that case 
     and in several others; and
       (D) Saint Mienpamo Onitsha, founder of the online 
     broadcaster NAIJA Live TV, who was arrested on October 10, 
     2023, at gunpoint at the home of a friend, charged under the 
     Cybercrimes Act over a report about tensions in the southern 
     Niger Delta region, and released on bail after nearly 4 
     months in jail;
       (3) in Eritrea, which is one of the world's most censored 
     nations, and where, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists, at least 16 journalists, including editors Dawit 
     Isaak and Amanuel Asrat, are detained, with most of these 
     detentions commencing during a 2001 crackdown on the 
     independent press, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists;
       (4) in Cameroon, where--
       (A) 6 journalists were imprisoned as of December 2023;
       (B) at least 2 journalists have died in government custody 
     under suspicious circumstances since 2010;
       (C) journalist Martinez Zogo was abducted, tortured, and 
     killed in January 2023; and
       (D) journalist Jean-Jacques Ola Bebe was killed in February 
     2023, with no police investigation into his murder;
       (5) in Rwanda, where the media landscape is heavily 
     restricted by censorship and authoritarianism, and where, 
     according to the Committee to Protect Journalists--
       (A) at least 4 journalists were imprisoned as of December 
     1, 2023, 2 of whom, YouTubers Aimbale Karasira Uzaramba and 
     Dieudonne Niyonsenga, have alleged torture while in state 
     custody; and
       (B) journalist John Williams Ntwali, who, after reporting 
     on cases of torture, disappearances, and forced government 
     evictions, was killed in January 2023 under suspicious 
     circumstances, and whose death has never been credibly 
     investigated;
       (6) in Burundi, where journalist Floriane Irangabiye is 
     serving a 10-year prison sentence, following a January 2023 
     conviction in connection to her critical commentary on 
     governance issues in the country, according to the Committee 
     to Protect Journalists;
       (7) in Mali and in Burkina Faso, where foreign journalists 
     have been expelled in the aftermath of the coup d'etat in 
     each country, French-language media outlets have been banned, 
     and local journalists work under threat of reprisal for 
     reporting on security issues, according to the Committee to 
     Protect Journalists and PEN America;
       (8) in Niger, where journalist Samira Sabou was detained 
     for 11 days in October 2023, and charged with cybercrime and 
     treason in connection with her reporting, according to the 
     Committee to Protect Journalists;
       (9) in Senegal, where journalists have been repeatedly 
     arrested and prosecuted for their work, attacked by security 
     forces, and struggled amid Internet shutdowns;
       (10) in Togo, where journalists have faced arrests and 
     prosecutions for their work and other forms of intimidation, 
     including spyware surveillance, according to the Committee to 
     Protect Journalists; and
       (11) in Zimbabwe, where journalists have been banned from 
     covering government meetings, and the legal framework for 
     journalists remains harsh, according to the Committee to 
     Protect Journalists;
       Whereas, in December 2023, the Parliament of Hungary passed 
     a Russian-inspired national sovereignty law that created the 
     ``Sovereignty Protection Authority'' (the ``Authority''), an 
     institution with the publicly declared objectives of 
     targeting journalists and identifying individuals and 
     organizations that receive foreign funding and which the 
     Authority suspects undermine the country's national 
     sovereignty, objectives that local media outlets have warned 
     will empower the Authority with the ability to stifle 
     independent journalism supported by overseas donors;
       Whereas in Serbia, journalists suffer regular online 
     harassment, smear campaigns,

[[Page S3718]]

     and physical attacks, and the 1999 killing of journalist 
     Slavko Curuvija remains unpunished after those formerly 
     convicted for his murder were acquitted, according to the 
     Committee to Protect Journalists;
       Whereas in Slovakia, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists, more than 6 years after the brutal killing of 
     investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina 
     Kusnirova, and despite the hitmen and intermediaries 
     receiving lengthy prison sentences, authorities have been 
     unable to convict the alleged mastermind;
       Whereas in Turkey, the Government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan 
     maintains one of the world's most repressive environments for 
     journalists and continues its revolving door policy on 
     detaining journalists, with at least 13 journalists in jail 
     in retaliation for their professional work at the time of the 
     Committee to Protect Journalists' most recent prison census, 
     which was published on December 1, 2023;
       Whereas Hatice Duman, the longest imprisoned journalist in 
     Turkey, who has been serving a life sentence on terrorism 
     charges since April 9, 2003, told the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists in November 2022 that she had little hope for 
     freedom in her retrial, while her continuing retrial has not 
     instigated any changes on the part of government authorities;
       Whereas in Azerbaijan, the Government of Ilham Aliyev, who 
     secured a fifth term in an uncompetitive early presidential 
     election in February 2024, mounted a renewed assault on 
     independent media in recent months by detaining 10 
     journalists, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists, from outlets Abzas Media, Kanal 13, and Toplum 
     TV; namely Ulvi Hasanli, Sevinj Vagifgizi, Mahammad Kekalov, 
     Hafiz Babali, Elnara Gasimova, Nargiz Absalamova, Aziz 
     Orujov, Shamo Eminov, Alasgar Mammadli, and Mushfig Jabbar, 
     constituting a crackdown on journalists that was in part 
     retaliation for their reporting on official corruption;
       Whereas, the Government of Tajikistan continued its 
     systematic repression of the free press in 2022 and 23 by 
     sentencing 7 journalists to lengthy prison terms on spurious 
     charges in secretive, closed-door trials held in detention 
     centers amid allegations of torture and forced confessions, 
     according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 
     including--
       (1) Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, a 67-year-old ethnic Pamiri 
     journalist and human rights defender, who was sentenced to 20 
     years in prison; and
       (2) journalists Daler Imomali, Abdullo Ghurbati, Zavqibek 
     Saidamini, and Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda, who were sentenced 
     to terms of imprisonment ranging from 7 to 10 years on 
     spurious charges of extremism;
       Whereas the Government of Kyrgyzstan, since the beginning 
     of 2022, has taken worrying steps to dismantle the country's 
     previously vibrant press environment, including by--
       (1) detaining 11 current and former staff of the 
     investigative reporting outlet Temirov Live, who have 
     reported on corruption allegations among high-level 
     government officials, since January 2024, according to the 
     Committee to Protect Journalists;
       (2) imposing spurious charges of illegal drug manufacture 
     on Krygyzstan-born investigative journalist Bolot Temirov and 
     deporting him to the Russian Federation in retaliation for 
     his reporting on corruption in the government's procurement 
     processes, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists;
       (3) shuttering and blocking investigative outlet Kloop, 
     which is known for its reporting on high-level government 
     corruption, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists;
       (4) enacting the so-called ``Foreign Representatives'' 
     legislation, which will establish extensive state control 
     over externally-funded press freedom groups and 
     nongovernmental organizations that run prominent news sites; 
     and
       (5) raiding independent news agency 24.kg on fabricated 
     charges, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists;
       Whereas in Algeria, press freedom continued to deteriorate 
     at an alarming pace in 2023, with 3 journalists in jail as of 
     December 2023, according to the Committee to Protect 
     Journalists, 2 of whom are the country's most prominent 
     journalists, including--
       (1) Mustapha Bendjama, the editor-in-chief and director of 
     local independent news website Le Provincial, who was 
     arrested on February 8, 2023, on foreign funding charges and 
     is currently serving a 6-month prison sentence for 
     ``committing an illegal immigration crime''; and
       (2) Ihsane El Kadi, editor-in-chief of local independent 
     news website Maghreb Emergent and Radio M, who was arrested 
     in December 2022, and is serving a 7-year prison sentence on 
     charges of receiving foreign funding for the news outlet he 
     manages;
       Whereas in Tunisia, press freedom has gravely deteriorated 
     following President Kais Saied's dismissal of the prime 
     minister on July 25, 2021, and his concomitant suspension of 
     the Parliament of Tunisia, according to the Committee to 
     Protect Journalists, in addition to the Tunisian Government's 
     imprisonment of journalists in 2023, which evince a national 
     context in which the government has broadly suppressed press 
     freedom in the country, including by--
       (1) raiding multiple local and foreign media outlets and 
     news organizations, and security officers, in several cases, 
     confiscating the organizations' broadcasting equipment and 
     ordering their offices to close, notably the office of Al 
     Jazeera; and
       (2) approving a new constitution that is devoid of 
     necessary protections for journalists to pursue their work 
     without fear of censorship and repression;
       Whereas United States journalists have been victimized 
     while reporting abroad, including--
       (1) Christopher Allen, who was killed while covering the 
     conflict in South Sudan on August 26, 2017, and for whom 
     there has been no credible investigation to pursue justice 
     after nearly 7 years;
       (2) Austin Tice, who was kidnapped in Syria and has been 
     held in captivity since August 13, 2012;
       (3) Brent Renaud, who was killed by Russian forces while 
     covering the war in Ukraine on March 13, 2022;
       (4) Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia on charges 
     of espionage on March 29, 2023; and
       (5) Alsu Kurmasheva, who holds dual United States-Russian 
     citizenship, and who was arrested in Russia on October 18, 
     2023, on charges of failure to register as a foreign agent;
       Whereas, under the auspices of the United States Agency for 
     Global Media, the United States Government provides financial 
     assistance to several editorially independent media outlets, 
     including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 
     Radio Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and the 
     Middle East Broadcasting Networks--
       (1) which report and broadcast news, information, and 
     analysis in critical regions around the world; and
       (2) whose journalists regularly face harassment, fines, and 
     imprisonment for their work; and
       Whereas press freedom--
       (1) is a key component of democratic governance, activism 
     in civil society, and socioeconomic development; and
       (2) enhances public accountability, transparency, and 
     participation in civil society and democratic governance: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) declares that a free press--
       (A) is a central component of free societies and democratic 
     governance;
       (B) contributes to an informed civil society and government 
     accountability;
       (C) helps to expose corruption;
       (D) enhances public accountability and transparency of 
     governments at all levels; and
       (E) disseminates information that is essential to improving 
     public health and safety;
       (2) expresses concerns about threats to the exercise of 
     freedom of expression, including by the press, around the 
     world;
       (3) recognizes and commends journalism's role in providing 
     trusted, accurate, and timely information and in holding 
     governments and leaders accountable to citizens;
       (4) recognizes the indispensable role of journalists and 
     media outlets in informing voters and the international 
     community about elections in multiple countries worldwide in 
     2024;
       (5) pays tribute to journalists who made tremendous 
     sacrifices, including the loss of their lives, in the pursuit 
     of truth and justice;
       (6) condemns all actions around the world that suppress 
     press freedom and endanger the safety of journalists;
       (7) calls for the unconditional and immediate release of 
     all wrongfully detained journalists;
       (8) reaffirms the centrality of press freedom to efforts of 
     the United States Government to support democracy, mitigate 
     conflict, and promote good governance domestically and around 
     the world; and
       (9) calls upon the President and the Secretary of State--
       (A) to preserve and build upon the leadership of the United 
     States on issues relating to press freedom, on the basis of 
     the protections for freedom of the press afforded the 
     American people under the First Amendment to the Constitution 
     of the United States;
       (B) to transparently investigate and bring to justice the 
     perpetrators of attacks against American journalists;
       (C) to support transparent investigations and efforts to 
     ensure accountability for attacks against journalists of 
     other nationalities; and
       (D) to promote the respect and protection of press freedom 
     around the world.

                          ____________________