A resolution calling for the immediate release of Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was unjustly detained on April 11, 2022.

III 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 145 Calling for the immediate release of Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara- Murza, who was unjustly detained on April 11, 2022. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 30, 2023 Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WICKER, Mr. COONS, Mr. RICKETTS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. RISCH) submitted the following reso- lution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Calling for the immediate release of Russian opposition lead- er Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was unjustly detained on April 11, 2022. Whereas Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘Mr. Kara-Murza’’) has tirelessly worked for decades to advance the cause of freedom, de- mocracy, and human rights for the people of the Russian Federation; Whereas, in retaliation for his advocacy, two attempts have been made on Mr. Kara-Murza’s life, as— (1) on May 26, 2015, Mr. Kara-Murza fell ill with symptoms indicative of poisoning and was hospitalized; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR145.IS SR145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 145 IS (2) on February 2, 2017, he fell ill with similar symptoms and was placed in a medically induced coma; 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 respon- sible for poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and activists Timur Kuashev, Ruslan Magomedragimov, and Nikita Isayev; 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, 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, 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 April 11, 2022, five police officers arrested Mr. Kara-Murza in front of his home and denied his right to an attorney, and the next day Mr. Kara-Murza was sen- tenced to 15 days in prison for disobeying a police order; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR145.IS SR145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 145 IS Whereas, on April 22, 2022, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation charged Mr. Kara-Murza with violations under the law signed on March 5, 2022, for his fact-based statements condemning the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation; Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza was then placed into pretrial de- tention and ordered to be held until at least June 12, 2022; Whereas, if convicted of those charges, Mr. Kara-Murza faces detention in a penitentiary system that human rights nongovernmental organizations have criticized for wide- spread torture, ill-treatment, and suspicious deaths of prisoners; 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; Whereas, on July 27, 2022, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation charged Mr. Kara-Murza for his alleged engagements with Free Russia Foundation and Open Russia, both of which are nongovernmental organi- zations targeted by the law of the Russian Federation on undesirable organizations; Whereas, on October 6, 2022, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation charged Mr. Kara-Murza with high treason on the grounds that he cooperated with a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member nation, which was corroborated by the public speeches he deliv- ered in the United States, Portugal, and Finland; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR145.IS SR145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 145 IS Whereas, on March 3, 2023, in response to bipartisan re- quests from Congress, the United States Government im- posed sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) on three Russian individuals, Elena Anatolievna Lenskaya, Andrei Andreevich Zadachin, and Danila Yurievich Mikheev, for their involvement in the unjust detention of Mr. Kara-Murza; and Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza’s attorney reported that his client’s health deteriorated to the point that he was unfit to at- tend his hearing on March 16, 2023, as Mr. Kara-Murza was being treated for polyneuropathy, a condition that he sustained from poison attacks on May 26, 2015, and February 2, 2017: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) condemns the unjust detention and indict- 2 ing of Russian opposition leader Vladimir 3 Vladimirovich Kara-Murza, who has courageously 4 stood up to oppression in the Russian Federation; 5 (2) expresses solidarity with Vladimir 6 Vladimirovich Kara-Murza, his family, and all indi- 7 viduals in the Russian Federation imprisoned for ex- 8 ercising their fundamental freedoms of speech, as- 9 sembly, and belief; 10 (3) urges the United States Government and 11 other allied governments to work to secure the im- 12 mediate release of Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara- 13 Murza, Alexei Navalny, and other citizens of the 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR145.IS SR145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 145 IS Russian Federation imprisoned for opposing the re- 1 gime of Vladimir Putin and the war against 2 Ukraine; and 3 (4) calls on the President to increase support 4 provided by the United States Government for those 5 advocating for democracy and independent media in 6 the Russian Federation, which Vladimir 7 Vladimirovich Kara-Murza has worked to advance. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR145.IS SR145 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS