[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8212-8213]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  CONDEMNING MURDER OF AMERICAN JOURNALIST PAUL KLEBNIKOV ON JULY 9, 
   2004, IN MOSCOW AND MURDERS OF OTHER MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA IN THE 
                           RUSSIAN FEDERATION

  Mr. McCOTTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 499) condemning the murder of American 
journalist Paul Klebnikov on July 9, 2004, in Moscow and the murders of 
other members of the media in the Russian Federation, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 499

       Whereas on July 9, 2004, American journalist Paul Klebnikov 
     was murdered by gunmen as he exited the Moscow offices of 
     Forbes Magazine;
       Whereas no person has been convicted of any offense in 
     connection with the murder of Mr. Klebnikov;
       Whereas Mr. Klebnikov is survived by his wife Helen, and 
     his three young children;
       Whereas twelve journalists have been murdered in the 
     Russian Federation since 2000 and Mr. Klebnikov was the first 
     and only United States citizen among these journalists;
       Whereas the Department of State's 2005 Country Reports on 
     Human Rights Practices states government pressure in Russia 
     continues to weaken freedom of expression and the 
     independence and freedom of the media, particularly among the 
     major national television networks and regional media 
     outlets;
       Whereas the Russian Prosecutor General's office arrested 
     and tried Musa Vahaev and Kazbek Dukzov for the murder of Mr. 
     Klebnikov;
       Whereas Musa Vahaev and Kazbek Dukzov were acquitted on May 
     5, 2006, of the charges of murdering Mr. Klebnikov;
       Whereas the Government of Russia has stated that Mr. 
     Klebnikov's murder was ordered by Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev, a 
     fugitive Chechen criminal gang leader, but has not publicly 
     released any evidence of Mr. Nukhayev's complicity;
       Whereas it remains unclear who ordered the murder of Mr. 
     Klebnikov or if any party will be convicted of this crime; 
     and
       Whereas a group of United States investigative journalists 
     has launched an independent inquiry into the death of Mr. 
     Klebnikov: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) condemns the murder of American journalist Paul 
     Klebnikov on July 9, 2004, in Moscow and the murders of other 
     members of the media in the Russian Federation;
       (2) commends the Russian Prosecutor General's office for 
     its continuing investigation of the murder of Mr. Klebnikov;
       (3) urges the Government of Russia to continue its 
     inquiries to determine and bring to justice all parties 
     involved in the murder of Mr. Klebnikov;
       (4) urges the Government of Russia to accept offers of 
     assistance with the investigation of Mr. Klebnikov's murder 
     from the United States and other concerned governments;
       (5) urges the Government of Russia to take appropriate 
     action to protect the independence and freedom of the Russian 
     media and all visiting members of the media; and
       (6) commends all journalists working and living in Russia 
     for their courageous dedication to transparency and the 
     truth.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. McCotter) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. McCOTTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McCOTTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 499, a resolution 
that condemns the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov in 
Moscow and the murder of other members of the media in the Russian 
Federation. H. Res. 499 was a product which I introduced, and I commend 
and thank the chairman of the Europe and Emerging Threats Subcommittee, 
Mr. Gallegly, and, of course, the chairman of the committee, Chairman 
Hyde, for all of their help with this legislation, as well as all of my 
colleagues on the International Relations Committee, and not 
surprisingly, I strongly urge its passage.
  On July 9, 2004, Paul Klebnikov, the editor-in-chief of the Russian 
edition of Forbes Magazine, was shot 10 times outside his office 
building in Moscow. He left behind a wife and three young children. As 
part of his work, Mr. Klebnikov had developed into one of the foremost 
experts on the intersection between organized crime, politics, law 
enforcement and big business in Russia. Unfortunately, the murder of 
Paul Klebnikov is not an isolated attack on members of the press. In 
the past 6 years alone, 12 journalists have been murdered in the 
Russian Federation.
  H. Res. 499 condemns this brutal murder, as well as the murder of 
other members of the Russian media. While applauding the work of the 
Russian prosecutor general's office for its ongoing investigation, the 
legislation urges the Government of Russia to continue its inquiry and 
bring to justice all parties involved in this horrific crime. It also 
calls upon Russia to accept offers of assistance from the United States 
and other rightly concerned governments.
  Finally, H. Res. 499 commends Russian-based journalists for their 
courageous dedication to transparency and the truth and urges the 
Russian Government to take appropriate action to protect the 
independence and freedom of members of the press working and living in 
Russia.
  H. Res. 499 was approved both by the Subcommittee on Europe and 
Emerging Threats and the full International Relations Committee.
  Mr. Speaker, it is often wondered why in the United States our 
Constitution refers to freedom of speech rather than freedom of 
conscience. It is because the founders of this country and the framers 
of our Constitution understood that there can be no freedom of 
conscience where there is not freedom of speech to express it. What the 
Founding Fathers knew has been perverted by many who would enslave and 
subjugate their fellow human beings, which is why we in the United 
States who enjoy a freedom of speech and its concomitant freedom of 
conscience must be ever alert to ensure that the watchdogs of liberty, 
a free and unfettered press, are forever protected from intimidation or 
extermination at the hands of dictators.
  Again, I would like to thank my colleagues on the International 
Relations Committee, and I would like to urge my colleagues to adopt 
this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in strong support of H. Res. 499, and I want to thank 
Congressman McCotter for introducing this important resolution that is 
being considered on the floor today.
  Mr. Speaker, American journalist Paul Klebnikov devoted his career to 
exposing corruption within Russia. He was committed to seeing Russia 
become a free and wholly democratic society. I think I can speak for 
everyone in this room today that we all share his dream.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Klebnikov will not be witness to this, as he was 
ruthlessly gunned down outside the Moscow offices of Forbes Magazine. 
He, like 11 other journalists since the Putin administration took 
office, was murdered in cold blood, chilling freedom of speech and the 
media in Russia.

[[Page 8213]]

  Last year, President Putin announced publicly that fighting 
corruption and protecting the Russian people from crime is a priority 
for his administration. For this promise not to be seen as yet another 
hollow gesture, President Putin must do everything in his power to 
investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of Mr. Klebnikov's murder. A 
free media will never exist in Russia unless the murderers are brought 
to justice.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge our colleagues to support this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time.
  Mr. McCOTTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I just wish to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler), the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), and of course, the ranking 
member of the International Relations Committee, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos), who has been a staunch opponent of 
totalitarianism and a champion of freedom in this institution for 
decades.
  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 499, 
condemning the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov in Moscow 
and the murders of other members of the media in the Russian 
Federation.
  Less than two weeks ago, on World Press Freedom Day, my colleague 
Mike Pence and I launched the new Congressional Caucus for Freedom of 
the Press. Representatives from a variety of non-governmental 
organizations came to extend their endorsement of this undertaking and 
several other Members of Congress spoke about the importance of press 
freedom for promoting democracy and human rights around the world.
  The guests of honor, however--and the reason we were all there--were 
the journalists who came to share their stories of persecution and 
harassment. He Qinglian spent a year under 24-hour surveillance when 
the Chinese Propaganda Department accused her of `inciting antagonism 
between the different strata of Chinese society' with her exposes of 
government corruption. After trying to investigate the presence of 
Taliban and AI-Qaeda elements in tribal areas in the autonomous zone 
between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Khawar Mehdi Rizvi was detained and 
tortured by Pakistani security forces for almost three months, before 
human rights groups and media organizations helped secure his escape to 
the United States.
  We were also joined by Musa Klebnikov, the widow of American 
journalist, Paul Klebnikov, whose unresolved murder this resolution 
condemns. Mrs. Klebnikov told us that Paul believed that without 
freedom of the press there is no civil society, and can be no true 
democracy. He died for this ideal, becoming one of the fallen heroes of 
this ongoing worldwide struggle.
  Paul committed himself to revealing the corrupt underside of Russia 
as well as celebrating its successes. His murder reveals both the 
importance of this type of work as well as the dangers facing 
journalists in the Russian Federation. Paul was the twelfth reporter to 
be killed in Russia since President Putin came to power in 2000. 
Russia's press laws remain very far below European standards and in the 
nearly two years since Paul's murder, working conditions for 
journalists continued to worsen alarmingly.
  Paul's murder stimulated the Russian government to dedicate real 
effort to prosecuting the hit men who shot him, and this resolution 
commends that effort. Unfortunately, two days after expressing her hope 
that this trial would set a standard for future cases of media 
persecution, the Russian court acquitted his killers. This resolution 
calls upon the Government of Russia to continue its inquiries into 
Paul's murder and to take appropriate action to protect the 
independence and freedom of journalists in the country.
  Paul Klebnikov's murder exposed the problem of violence against 
journalists in Russia and increased the awareness of widespread threats 
to press freedom. The Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press was 
created to highlight and condemn media censorship and the persecution 
of journalists around the world. This Resolution is an important 
affirmation of these objectives, and I commend my colleague, Mr. 
McCotter, for bringing it to the floor, and encourage broad support for 
its passage.
  Mr. McCOTTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. McCotter) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 499, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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