III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 145 

Calling for the immediate release of Russian opposition leader Vladimir KaraMurza, 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 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for the immediate release of Russian opposition leader 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, democracy, 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 


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•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 responsible for poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei 

Navalny and activists Timur Kuashev, Ruslan 

Magomedragimov, and Nikita Isayev; 

Whereas, on February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin launched another unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal invasion into 

Ukraine in contravention of the obligations freely undertaken 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 international 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 offenses; 

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 oppose 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 sentenced to 15 days in prison for disobeying a police order; 


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•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 detention 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 widespread torture, ill-treatment, and suspicious deaths of 

prisoners; 

Whereas, on May 26, 2022, the United States Senate unanimously agreed to Senate Resolution 632 (117th Congress) calling for the immediate release of Mr. KaraMurza, Alexei Navalny, and other citizens of the Russian 

Federation imprisoned for opposing the regime of Vladimir 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 organizations 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 delivered in the United States, Portugal, and Finland; 


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Whereas, on March 3, 2023, in response to bipartisan requests from Congress, the United States Government imposed 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 attend 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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the unjust detention and indict3 ing of Russian opposition leader Vladimir 

4 Vladimirovich Kara-Murza, who has courageously 

5 stood up to oppression in the Russian Federation; 

6 (2) expresses solidarity with Vladimir 

7 Vladimirovich Kara-Murza, his family, and all indi8 viduals in the Russian Federation imprisoned for ex9 ercising their fundamental freedoms of speech, as10 sembly, and belief; 

11 (3) urges the United States Government and 

12 other allied governments to work to secure the im13 mediate release of Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara14 Murza, Alexei Navalny, and other citizens of the 


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1 Russian Federation imprisoned for opposing the re2 gime of Vladimir Putin and the war against 

3 Ukraine; and 

4 (4) calls on the President to increase support 

5 provided by the United States Government for those 

6 advocating for democracy and independent media in 

7 the Russian Federation, which Vladimir 

8 Vladimirovich Kara-Murza has worked to advance. 

Æ 


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