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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1084 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1084

Condemning the killing of Alexei Navalny and calling for the release of 
           all political prisoners in the Russian Federation.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 15, 2024

    Ms. Wild (for herself and Mrs. Wagner) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Condemning the killing of Alexei Navalny and calling for the release of 
           all political prisoners in the Russian Federation.

Whereas Alexei Navalny (referred to in this preamble as ``Mr. Navalny'') 
        dedicated himself to building a future of democracy and rule of law for 
        the people of the Russian Federation;
Whereas Mr. Navalny worked to expose systemic corruption and abuse at the 
        highest levels of the Kremlin and to call for democratic reforms over 
        the course of his work as an independent journalist, advocate, attorney, 
        and opposition candidate for elected office;
Whereas Russian state authorities led by President Vladimir Putin retaliated 
        against Mr. Navalny for his activism, including multiple politically 
        motivated arrests, convictions, and an assassination attempt with the 
        Novichok nerve agent on August 20, 2020;
Whereas investigations conducted by Bellingcat, the Insider, Der Spiegel, and 
        multiple governments found that the same unit of the Federal Security 
        Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation responsible for poisoning Mr. 
        Navalny was responsible for poisoning Russian activists Vladimir Kara-
        Murza, Timur Kuashev, Ruslan Magomedragimov, and Nikita Isayev;
Whereas upon his decision to return to the Russian Federation in 2021 after 
        recovering abroad from the FSB assassination attempt, Mr. Navalny was 
        sentenced and imprisoned on politically motivated charges;
Whereas Mr. Navalny's 2021 arrest and imprisonment led to mass demonstrations in 
        support of Mr. Navalny, in which authorities detained an estimated 
        11,000 protestors;
Whereas, on February 17, 2021, the European Court of Human Rights issued a 
        ruling finding that Mr. Navalny's rights had been violated and demanding 
        his immediate release;
Whereas after a meeting with President Putin in June 2021, President Biden vowed 
        that Russia would face ``devastating consequences'' if Mr. Navalny were 
        to die in prison;
Whereas Mr. Navalny condemned Vladimir Putin's unprovoked, unjustified, and 
        illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24, 2022;
Whereas President Putin has further repressed Russian citizens who have 
        expressed opposition to his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including a 
        March 2022 law signed by President Putin criminalizing the distribution 
        of information contradicting the Russian government's claims about the 
        invasion of Ukraine and mandating up to 15 years in prison for such so-
        called ``offenses'';
Whereas, during a court proceeding in Moscow on May 24, 2022, Mr. Navalny 
        declared Russia's war on Ukraine as ``built on lies'';
Whereas Mr. Navalny was imprisoned in the IK-6 prison colony in the Vladimir 
        region, a facility widely and credibly documented by former prisoners 
        and watchdog organizations for its systemic mistreatment of prisoners 
        and the widespread use of inhumane practices including torture;
Whereas, in late 2023, Mr. Navalny was transferred from IK-6 prison colony to 
        the remote Artic IK-3 prison colony of Kharp in grossly inhumane 
        conditions in the Yamalo-Nenets region;
Whereas throughout his detention period, credible media sources reported that 
        Mr. Navalny was subjected to dangerous practices and systematic abuse by 
        Russian prison authorities, including the denial of medical care and 
        torture;
Whereas, on February 16, 2024, Russian authorities announced the death of Mr. 
        Navalny in IK-3 prison colony; and
Whereas, on February 16, 2024, President Biden affirmed that ``Putin is 
        responsible for Navalny's death'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the politically motivated killing of Alexei 
        Navalny by the Russian Federation;
            (2) establishes that the Government of the Russian 
        Federation is fully responsible for Mr. Navalny's death given 
        its documented attempt to assassinate him on August 20, 2020, 
        and systemic abuse and negligence of his health and safety 
        throughout his imprisonment;
            (3) expresses solidarity with Mr. Navalny's widow, Yulia 
        Navalnaya, his family, attorneys, and colleagues of Mr. 
        Navalny, as well as all prisoners of conscience in the Russian 
        Federation imprisoned and subjected to state-sponsored violence 
        and intimidation for exercising their fundamental freedoms of 
        speech, assembly, and belief;
            (4) condemns the Russian Federation's continued 
        imprisonment of thousands of prisoners on politically motivated 
        charges, including numerous United States citizens such as Evan 
        Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva;
            (5) urges the United States Government and other allied 
        governments to work to secure the immediate release of all 
        political prisoners in the Russian Federation; and
            (6) calls on the Secretaries of State and Treasury to 
        impose additional sanctions on Russian authorities who played a 
        role in the killing of Mr. Navalny in coordination with United 
        States allies and partners.
                                 <all>
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