A concurrent resolution 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.

118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 7 CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Whereas, on April 11, 2022, Vladimir Kara-Murza was un- justly detained by Russian authorities for spreading sup- posedly ‘‘false information’’ in a speech in March 2022 to the Arizona House of Representatives; Whereas, on February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin launched an- other unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal invasion into Ukraine in contravention of the obligations freely under- taken 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 inter- national 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 op- pose 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 of- fenses; Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza, in his March 15, 2022, speech presented a defiant condemnation of Vladimir Putin’s 2 † SCON 7 ES policies and leadership outlining his corruption and ma- lign intentions, and condemning the illegal war of aggres- sion 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 re- taliation 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 re- sponsible for poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and activists Timur Kuashev, Ruslan Magomedragimov, and Nikita Isayev; Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza has consistently advocated for de- mocracy in Russia and insisted that democracy in Russia must be advanced by Russians for all those living in Rus- sia; Whereas, on May 26, 2022, the United States Senate unani- mously agreed to Senate Resolution 632 (117th Con- gress) calling for the immediate release of Mr. Kara- Murza, Alexei Navalny, and other citizens of the Russian Federation imprisoned for opposing the regime of Vladi- mir Putin and the war against Ukraine; 3 † SCON 7 ES 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 unde- sirable 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 ex- tended 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 condi- tion 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 De- fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263) condemned Mr. Kara-Murza’s unjust de- tention, expressed solidarity with Mr. Kara-Murza, his 4 † SCON 7 ES family, and all individuals imprisoned in Russia for their beliefs, and urged the United States and other ally gov- ernments to work to secure the release of Mr. Kara- Murza and other citizens of the Russian Federation im- prisoned 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 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 ac- tion in defense of human rights; Whereas the late Senator John McCain said Mr. Kara-Murza ‘‘is a brave, outspoken, and relentless advocate for free- dom 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 let- ter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urging that Mr. Kara-Murza be designated under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Ac- countability 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 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 1 concurring), That Congress— 2 5 † SCON 7 ES (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms 1 the unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian demo- 2 cratic opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza; 3 (2) calls on the Russian Federation to imme- 4 diately release Mr. Kara-Murza and all other Rus- 5 sian opposition leaders, including Alexei Navalny, 6 who are detained as a result of their opposition to 7 the Putin regime; 8 (3) expresses solidarity with and calls for the 9 release of all political prisoners in Russia and 10 Belarus, as well as Ukrainian citizens illegally held 11 as prisoners by Putin’s regime in violation of the 12 rule of law as a result of their support for liberal 13 democratic values; and 14 (4) calls on the President of the United States 15 and leaders from across the free world to work tire- 16 lessly for the release of political prisoners in Russia. 17 Passed the Senate November 2, 2023. Attest: Secretary. 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 7 CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Condemning Russia’s unjust and arbitrary deten- tion of Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara- Murza who has stood up in defense of democ- racy, the rule of law, and free and fair elections in Russia.