[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 25574-25575]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



       PLEA TO RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT FOR THE RELEASE OF EDMOND POPE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the 
attention of the Russian government an irony that I believe perfectly 
illustrates why Edmond Pope, an American businessman, held captive for 
211 days, should be released.
  Since his arrest in April on charges of espionage, Ed Pope has been 
held in a Russian prison thousands of miles away from his family. He 
has been denied regular contact with his loved ones, including his 
ailing parents whose home is in the district I represent. He has been 
held in utterly uncivilized conditions, and, most distressing of all, 
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Pope has been denied access to the specialized medical 
treatment that is needed to detect a recurrence of the rare form of 
bone cancer that he once battled.
  Last Friday, Mr. Speaker, while Ed Pope was sitting in his bare 
prison cell in Moscow, this House passed a bill granting U.S. residency 
to a Russian citizen named Marina Khalina and her son, Alec Miftakhov. 
Marina and Alec live in Portland, Oregon, a mere 250 miles from the 
parents of a man who is being unjustly held in their native country. 
Mr. Speaker, 250 miles from Roy Pope, who has terminal cancer, a 
condition that is made even more unbearable by the knowledge that he 
may not live to see his son, Ed, returned home.
  My comments should not be taken as any criticism about the Russians 
who have become our latest citizens in Portland. They are not intended 
that way at all. You see, Marina came to this country in search of 
medical treatment for her son. The assistance she has received from 
Oregonians in retaining that treatment for Alec is one of the most 
transparently generous acts of humanity I have ever witnessed, and it 
is incredibly important that it be carried out.
  Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age 6 months, Alec's leg muscles and 
tendons were so contracted that he could not walk. Without the social 
services or rights that the disabled are afforded in this country, Alec 
could not go to school in Russia. His desperate mother could not even 
obtain a wheelchair for her son and carried him in her arms for 7 
years.
  Thirteen years ago, she met a visiting physician from Salem, Oregon 
who contacted Shriners Hospitals for Children in Portland. In October 
of 1989, Marina and her son entered the United States as visitors for 
the first of 6 operations that Alec would undergo. As he underwent more 
surgery and rehabilitation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service 
in Portland granted extensions, allowing Marina and her son to remain 
in the U.S. Forcing Alec to return to Russia where Ed Pope spends his 
days peering through steel bars would have halted medical progress and 
consigned him to a life utterly devoid of hope. Thanks to the 
outpouring of assistance he received in this country, Alec has been 
spared that terrible fate. But while Alec receives medical attention in 
the United States courtesy of the goodwill of the American people and 
those of my State, the Russian government systematically refuses to 
grant Ed Pope access to the medical care that could save his life.

                              {time}  1630

  Since the bill granting Marina and Alec residency status was 
introduced, she has worked in Gresham, Oregon, where she coordinates 
care for elderly and disabled clients. Alec has earned his high school 
equivalency degree and hopes to study Web design. Needless to say, the 
future looks considerably brighter for them in this country thanks to 
the compassion we have shown in this Congress and that shown by the 
people of Oregon.
  Following passage of the bill granting her a new life in this 
country, Marina said, ``For us, this is freedom.'' And indeed it is, 
Mr. Speaker. It is freedom that is being denied to Ed Pope as he sits 
before a Russian judge

[[Page 25575]]

awaiting a verdict that could lock him away in prison for more than 20 
years.
  I know I am not alone in welcoming Marina and Alec to Oregon, and I 
wish them well and the very best in the years ahead. We are a Nation of 
immigrants. And as the goodwill shown to Marina and Alec shows, we are 
a Nation of profoundly decent and compassionate people. But the 
generosity that has been shown to Alec and Marina stands in stark 
contrast to the inhumane, unjust imprisonment of Ed Pope. If only the 
Russian government, indeed, if only the Russian President could follow 
our example.
  So I call upon President Putin not to just reinforce the worst images 
of Russia in the minds of the people of the West by prolonging Ed 
Pope's already lengthy imprisonment. Show Ed Pope the kindness that has 
been shown to Marina Khalina and Alec Miftakhov and release Ed Pope 
immediately.

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