Federal

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.

Source: Congress.gov · 1,097 words in original text

Summary

# H. CON. RES. 27 - Plain English Translation ## WHAT THIS BILL DOES Congress condemns Russia's detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition leader who has spoken out for democracy and against Russia's actions in Ukraine. The bill calls on Russia to release him and other political prisoners, and asks the U.S. Government to take specific actions to support people fighting for democracy in Russia. ## WHO IT AFFECTS Vladimir Kara-Murza (Russian opposition leader currently detained). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich (wrongfully detained). The Russian Federation. The President of the United States. Leaders of free world countries. The U.S. Government. ## KEY PROVISIONS Congress strongly condemns the unjust and arbitrary detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza (Resolution paragraph 1). Congress calls on the Russian Federation to immediately release Mr. Kara-Murza and all other Russian opposition leaders detained because of their opposition to the Putin regime (Resolution paragraph 2). Congress calls on the United States Government to officially designate Mr. Kara-Murza and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva as wrongfully detained under the Levinson Act (a federal law that designates certain detentions as wrongful) (Resolution paragraph 5). Congress calls on the President of the United States and world leaders to work to release political prisoners in Russia and increase support for people advocating for democracy in Russia, independent media and civil society (Resolution paragraph 6). ## WHAT CHANGES This is a concurrent resolution, which means Congress is expressing its official opinion and making formal calls for action. The bill does not create new laws or requirements that automatically take effect. Instead, it directs Congress to call on the Russian Federation to release detainees and directs the U.S. Government to take specific actions regarding the Levinson Act designation. ## IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS **Political prisoner**: A person detained by a government because of their opposition to that government's leadership or policies. **Levinson Act**: Not explicitly defined in bill text. **Wrongfully detained**: Not explicitly defined in bill text. ## EFFECTIVE DATE Not specified in bill text.

III 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 27 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 12, 2024 Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Condemning Russia’s unjust and arbitrary detention of Rus- sian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza who has stood up in defense of democracy, the rule of law, and free and fair elections in Russia. 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 Mr. Kara-Murza in his March 15, 2022, speech pre- sented a defiant condemnation of Vladimir Putin’s poli- cies and leadership outlining his corruption and VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC27.RFS HC27 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 HCON 27 RFS malign intentions, and condemning the illegal war of ag- gression 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 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, 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’’ in part due to his public condemnations of the Kremlin’s military aggres- sion on Ukraine and domestic repressions; Whereas, in April 2023, Mr. Kara-Murza was unjustly sen- tenced to 25 years in prison; Whereas the state of Mr. Kara-Murza’s health has deterio- rated and in addition to losing over 45 pounds, he was diagnosed with polyneuropathy, a condition that under Russian law should have precluded him from detainment; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC27.RFS HC27 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 HCON 27 RFS 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 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 March 2023, the Department of the Treasury and the Department of State imposed Global Magnitsky and other targeted sanctions on six Russians involved in Mr. Kara-Murza’s ongoing arbitrary detention, recog- VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC27.RFS HC27 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 HCON 27 RFS nized his role as ‘‘a major advocate for the adoption of Magnitsky-style sanctions authorities by the United States, Canada, European Union, and United Kingdom to target human rights abusers and corrupt actors in Russia’’, and called for his immediate release; 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 House of Representatives (the Senate 1 concurring), That Congress— 2 (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms 3 the unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian demo- 4 cratic opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza; 5 (2) calls on the Russian Federation to imme- 6 diately release Mr. Kara-Murza and all other Rus- 7 sian opposition leaders who are detained as a result 8 of their opposition to the Putin regime; 9 (3) calls on all Russian citizens to outright con- 10 demn Russia’s illegal and unjust invasion of Ukraine 11 in the spirit of Mr. Kara-Murza’s defiant opposition 12 stance in front of the Arizona House of Representa- 13 tives in March 2022; 14 (4) expresses solidarity and calls for the release 15 of all political prisoners in Russia and Belarus, in- 16 cluding Ukrainian citizens illegally held as prisoners 17 by Putin’s regime in violation of the rule of law as 18 a result of their support for liberal democratic val- 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC27.RFS HC27 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 HCON 27 RFS ues, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist 1 Alsu Kurmasheva, and wrongfully-detained Ameri- 2 cans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich; 3 (5) calls on the United States Government to 4 designate Mr. Kara-Murza, as well as Radio Free 5 Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, 6 as wrongfully detained under the Levinson Act; and 7 (6) calls on the President of the United States 8 and leaders from across the free world to work tire- 9 lessly for the release of political prisoners in Russia 10 and increase support for those advocating for democ- 11 racy in Russia as well as independent media and 12 civil society which Mr. Kara-Murza has worked to 13 further. 14 Passed the House of Representatives June 11, 2024. Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC27.RFS HC27 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.