Condemning Russiaâ€™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.

Condemning Russiaâ€™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. Whereas, on April 11, 2022, Vladimir Kara-Murza was unjustly detained by Russian authorities for spreading supposedly false information 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, 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 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 Mr. Kara-Murza, in his March 15, 2022, speech presented a defiant condemnation of Vladimir Putinâ€™s policies and leadership outlining his corruption and malign intentions, and condemning the illegal war of aggression 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 retaliation 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 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 also responsible for poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and activists Timur Kuashev, Ruslan Magomedragimov, and Nikita Isayev; Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza has consistently advocated for democracy in Russia and insisted that democracy in Russia must be advanced by Russians for all those living in Russia; Whereas, on May 26, 2022, the United States Senate unanimously agreed to Senate Resolution 632 (117th Congress) calling for the immediate release of Mr. Kara-Murza, 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 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, in August 2022, new charges were brought against Mr. Kara-Murza for carrying out the activities undesirable foreign organization Whereas, in October 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza was further charged unjustly with high treason Whereas, on April 17, 2023, Mr. Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison, one of the highest sentences given to any Russian opposition figure; Whereas, since Mr. Kara-Murza's arrest, the state of his health has deteriorated and in addition to losing over 45 pounds, he was diagnosed with polyneuropathy, a condition that under Russian law, should preclude him from incarceration; 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 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 ( Public Law 117â€“263 Whereas, in April 2022, Vladimir Kara-Murza was presented the McCain Instituteâ€™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 action in defense of human rights; Whereas the late Senator John McCain said Mr. Kara-Murza is a brave, outspoken, and relentless advocate for freedom and democracy in Russia a personal hero whose courage, selflessness and idealism I find awe-inspiring Whereas, in April 2023, 81 Members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urging that Mr. Kara-Murza be designated under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act ( 22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq. Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza remains a political prisoner and a victim of Vladimir Putinâ€™s authoritarian state: Now, therefore, be it That Congressâ€” (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms the unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian democratic opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza; (2) calls on the Russian Federation to immediately release Mr. Kara-Murza and all other Russian opposition leaders, including Alexei Navalny, who are detained as a result of their opposition to the Putin regime; (3) expresses solidarity with and calls for the release of all political prisoners in Russia and Belarus, as well as Ukrainian citizens illegally held as prisoners by Putinâ€™s regime in violation of the rule of law as a result of their support for liberal democratic values; and (4) calls on the President of the United States and leaders from across the free world to work tirelessly for the release of political prisoners in Russia. Passed the Senate November 2, 2023. Secretary

Summary: This concurrent resolution condemns Russia's unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian democratic opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza and calls for his immediate release and the release of all other Russian opposition leaders. It also calls for the release of all political prisoners in Russia and in Belarus, as well as for the release of Ukrainian citizens held by Russia, and calls on the President and leaders of the free world to work tirelessly for the release of political prisoners in Russia.