IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1145 

Condemning the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and 

calling for a robust United States and international response. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 

Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. MALINOWSKI, and Mr. 

SMITH of New Jersey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, Ways and Means, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the poisoning of Russian opposition leader 

Alexei Navalny and calling for a robust United States 

and international response. 

Whereas Alexei Navalny is a well-known anticorruption activist and leader of the political opposition in Russia; 

Whereas Mr. Navalny garnered 27 percent of the vote in the 

2013 Moscow mayoral election; 

Whereas since that election, Mr. Navalny and his party have 

been repeatedly denied the opportunity to compete in 

elections; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 1145 IH 

Whereas Mr. Navalny has been imprisoned multiple times for 

participating in unsanctioned protests; 

Whereas Mr. Navalny was attacked twice with a chemical 

substance in 2017 and potentially poisoned in 2019 while 

in prison; 

Whereas over the years a number of Russian journalists, 

human rights activists, politicians, whistleblowers, and 

others have been killed or died under mysterious circumstances, in Russia and overseas, including— 

(1) former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko (in 

London) and investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya 

in 2006; 

(2) human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, journalist Anastasia Baburova, and human rights activist 

Natalya Estemirova in 2009; and 

(3) opposition politician Boris Nemtsov in 2015; 

Whereas, on August 20, 2020, Mr. Navalny fell ill while on 

a domestic flight in Russia; 

Whereas, on August 22, 2020, Mr. Navalny was evacuated by 

airlift from Omsk, Russia, to Berlin, Germany, for his 

protection and to ensure he would receive a high standard of health care to improve his chances of recovery; 

Whereas German chemical weapons experts conducted tests 

and found ‘‘unequivocal’’ evidence that Mr. Navalny had 

been poisoned with a Soviet-era Novichok chemical nerve 

agent; 

Whereas specialized laboratories in France and Sweden confirmed that Mr. Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent 

from the Novichok group; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has repeatedly denied that Mr. Navalny was poisoned; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 1145 IH 

Whereas the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany 

has called on the Government of the Russian Federation 

to open an investigation into Mr. Navalny’s case; 

Whereas the Russian Federation is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); 

Whereas Article 6 of the ICCPR states that ‘‘Every human 

being has the inherent right to life’’ and ‘‘No one shall 

be arbitrarily deprived of his life’’; 

Whereas Article 9 of the ICCPR states that ‘‘Everyone has 

the right to liberty and security of person.’’; 

Whereas the Russian Federation is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); 

Whereas respect for human rights is key to the OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security and therefore the OSCE 

monitors the human rights situation in its 57 participating states; 

Whereas Congress passed the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law 

Accountability Act of 2012 (title IV of Public Law 112– 

208) and the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114– 

328) in 2016 which provide the United States Government with authorities to respond to grave violations of 

human rights and corruption in Russia; and 

Whereas in response to a previous Novichok attack against 

a United Kingdom national and his daughter in 2018, 

the United States Government imposed two rounds of 

sanctions on Russia pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 

1991 (Public Law 102–182; 22 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.): 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 1145 IH 

1 (1) condemns the apparently purposeful poi2 soning on August 20, 2020, of Russian 

3 anticorruption activist and opposition leader Alexei 

4 Navalny; 

5 (2) expresses its appreciation for the prompt 

6 and generous efforts of the Cinema for Peace Foun7 dation and the Government of the Federal Republic 

8 of Germany to ensure high-quality health care for 

9 Mr. Navalny after he was poisoned by facilitating his 

10 transfer by airlift from Russia to Germany; 

11 (3) welcomes reports that Mr. Navalny has 

12 emerged from a medically induced coma and is 

13 gradually recovering from the poisoning; 

14 (4) hopes for Mr. Navalny’s full and complete 

15 recovery so that he may promptly resume his life 

16 and work; 

17 (5) urges multilateral human rights monitoring 

18 bodies to monitor the case of the August 2020 poi19 soning of Alexei Navalny as a probable violation of 

20 his fundamental human rights and to respond ac21 cordingly; 

22 (6) calls on the Government of the Russian 

23 Federation to cooperate with an independent, impar24 tial, and thorough investigation of the reported poi25 soning of Alexei Navalny; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 1145 IH 

1 (7) calls on the United States Government to 

2 support international or multilateral efforts to en3 sure an independent, impartial, and thorough inves4 tigation of the reported poisoning of Alexei Navalny; 

5 (8) urges the United States Government, in all 

6 its interactions with the Government of the Russian 

7 Federation, to raise the case of the poisoning of 

8 Alexei Navalny and underscore the necessity of 

9 bringing the organizers and perpetrators to justice; 

10 (9) calls on the Secretary of State and the Sec11 retary of the Treasury to use their authority under 

12 the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability 

13 Act of 2012 (title IV of Public Law 112–208) and 

14 the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability 

15 Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114–328) 

16 to designate individuals whom they determine upon 

17 investigation to have been involved in the poisoning 

18 of Alexei Navalny as perpetrators, organizers, or 

19 masterminds, on the list of specially designated na20 tionals and blocked persons maintained by the Office 

21 of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the 

22 Treasury, freezing their assets and making them in23 eligible to receive United States visas; and 

24 (10) supports the 60-day review period trig25 gered by the submission of a letter to the President 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HRES 1145 IH 

1 by the Chair and Ranking Member of the Foreign 

2 Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives 

3 to investigate whether the poisoning of Alexei 

4 Navalny constitutes use of a chemical weapon by the 

5 Government of the Russian Federation in contraven6 tion of international law, and if so, to impose sanc7 tions pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weap8 ons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 

9 (Public Law 102–182; 22 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.). 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS