A resolution calling on the Government of the Russian Federation to provide evidence or to release United States citizen Paul Whelan.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 308 Calling on the Government of the Russian Federation to provide evidence or to release United States citizen Paul Whelan. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 Mr. PETERS (for himself and Ms. STABENOW) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Calling on the Government of the Russian Federation to provide evidence or to release United States citizen Paul Whelan. Whereas United States citizen Paul Whelan is a resident of Novi, Michigan, and a United States Marine Corps vet- eran; Whereas Paul Whelan traveled to Moscow for the wedding of a personal friend on December 22, 2018; Whereas Russia’s Federal Security Service arrested Paul Whelan at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow on December 28, 2018, and charged him with espionage; Whereas Paul Whelan was imprisoned in Lefortovo Prison and continues to be held there more than eight months after his arrest; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR308.IS SR308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 308 IS Whereas the Federal Security Service has not provided any evidence of supposed wrongdoing; Whereas a Moscow court has extended Paul Whelan’s pre- trial detention multiple times without publicly presenting justification or evidence of wrongdoing; Whereas officials from the United States Embassy in Moscow have routinely had their topics of discussion with Paul Whelan severely limited by the Federal Security Service; Whereas even Paul Whelan’s Federal Security Service-ap- pointed lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, said on May 24, 2019, ‘‘[The Federal Security Service] always roll[s] out what they have, but in this case, we’ve seen nothing con- crete against Whelan in five months. That means there is nothing.’’; Whereas the United States Ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman, responded on April 12, 2019, to a question about the detention of Paul Whelan, ‘‘If the Russians have evidence, they should bring it forward. We have seen nothing. If there was a case, I think the evidence would have been brought forward by now.’’; and Whereas Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on May 14, 2019, and urged him to ensure United States citizens are not un- justly held abroad: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) urges the Government of the Russian Fed- 2 eration to present credible evidence on the allega- 3 tions against Paul Whelan or immediately release 4 him from detention; 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR308.IS SR308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 308 IS (2) urges the Government of the Russian Fed- 1 eration to provide unrestricted consular access to 2 Paul Whelan while he remains in detention; 3 (3) urges the Government of the Russian Fed- 4 eration to ensure Paul Whelan is afforded due proc- 5 ess and universally recognized human rights; 6 (4) encourages the President and the Secretary 7 of State to continue to press the Government of the 8 Russian Federation at every opportunity and urge 9 the Government of the Russian Federation to guar- 10 antee a fair and transparent judicial process without 11 undue delay in accordance with its international 12 legal obligation; and 13 (5) expresses sympathy to the family of Paul 14 Whelan and expresses hope that their ordeal can 15 soon be brought to an end. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:31 Sep 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR308.IS SR308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS