Bill Summary
This resolution condemns the Government of the Russian Federation for arbitrarily arresting and detaining United States citizens under false pretenses. It specifically calls for the immediate and unconditional release of several individuals who have been wrongfully detained, including a journalist, a schoolteacher, and a ballerina. The resolution also condemns the Russian government for the ongoing persecution and imprisonment of citizens who speak out against the government's actions and calls for an end to the war in Ukraine. It urges the Department of State to take action and calls for the release of all detained individuals.
Possible Impacts
1. The legislation could affect the families of the detained individuals, causing them emotional distress and uncertainty about the safety of their loved ones.
2. The legislation could affect the United States' relationship with Russia, potentially causing tensions and strained diplomatic ties.
3. The legislation could also have a ripple effect on other countries and their citizens, as they may be worried about the arbitrary arrest and detention of their citizens by the Russian government. This could lead to travel warnings and restrictions for those countries, affecting their tourism and economy.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 629 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 629
Condemning the arbitrary arrest of United States citizens by the
Government of the Russian Federation and calling for the immediate and
unconditional release of such citizens.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 8, 2024
Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr.
Blumenthal, Mr. Casey, Mr. Coons, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. King, Mrs.
Murray, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Bennet, Mrs.
Shaheen, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Booker, Mr. Welch, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Wyden,
and Ms. Warren) submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning the arbitrary arrest of United States citizens by the
Government of the Russian Federation and calling for the immediate and
unconditional release of such citizens.
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has arbitrarily and cruelly
arrested United States citizens under false pretenses in order to
extract bargaining leverage on unrelated matters;
Whereas the Russian Federation is a permanent member of the United Nations
Security Council;
Whereas, on March 29, 2023, the Government of the Russian Federation arrested
United States citizen and accredited Wall Street Journal reporter Evan
Gershkovich on fraudulent charges of espionage for his reporting on the
Russian economy;
Whereas Gershkovich has spent more than one year in pretrial detention in the
notorious Lefortovo prison in Moscow, including in isolation with
limited access to medical care and attorneys;
Whereas, even during the Cold War, the Soviet Union never held a journalist from
the United States for similar long-term detention, with the closest
parallel being the 1986 arrest and 13-day detainment of U.S. News and
World Report journalist Nicholas Daniloff;
Whereas the Department of State determined on April 10, 2023, that Gershkovich
has been wrongfully detained by the Government of the Russian
Federation;
Whereas, on December 28, 2018, the Government of the Russian Federation arrested
United States citizen Paul Whelan and later convicted him on June 15,
2020, on fraudulent espionage charges;
Whereas Whelan has spent nearly four years in various high-security jails and
labor camps in the Russian Federation, while enduring solitary
confinement, forced labor, and the denial of medical care;
Whereas the Department of State determined on April 10, 2023, that Whelan has
been wrongfully detained by the Government of the Russian Federation;
Whereas United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation Lynne Tracy publicly
stated on March 26, 2024, following Evan Gershkovich's court hearing,
``Evan's case is not about evidence, due process, or rule of law. It is
about using American citizens as pawns to achieve political ends, as the
Kremlin is doing in the case of Paul Whelan'';
Whereas, on June 2, 2023, the Government of the Russian Federation arrested
United States citizen and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist
Alsu Kurmasheva on politically motivated charges of working as a foreign
agent and ``spreading falsehoods about the Russian military,'' and who
now faces a prison sentence up to 15 years;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has repeatedly denied consular
access, basic medical care, and ordered Kurmasheva to remain in pre-
trial detention in prison conditions Kurmasheva described as
``inhumane'';
Whereas, on August 14, 2021, the Government of the Russian Federation arrested
United States citizen and international schoolteacher Marc Fogel for
possession of medical marijuana prescribed by his physician, then
sentenced him on June 16, 2022, to an excessive 14-year sentence in a
Russian labor camp;
Whereas lawyers from the Russian Federation informed Fogel's family that the
typical sentence for the offense is five years of probation, and in
2019, the same Russian court sentenced a Russian defendant to eight
years in prison for the possession of 1,500 grams of various narcotics;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation sentenced Fogel to punishment
vastly disproportionate to the severity of his nonviolent crime, wildly
dissimilar to the typical punishments for comparable offenses in the
Russian Federation, and clearly motivated by ongoing political tensions
between the Russian Federation and the United States;
Whereas, on January 28, 2024, the Government of the Russian Federation arrested
United States citizen and amateur ballerina Ksenia Khavana on fraudulent
charges of high treason during a visit to the Russian Federation after
she donated $50 to a charity supporting humanitarian aid for Ukraine;
Whereas Khavana has been held in a high-security prison with no access to hot
water or heat during winter, and faces a 20-year sentence with limited
means of legal defense;
Whereas, on February 17, 2022, the Government of the Russian Federation arrested
Brittney Griner on trumped-up charges, kept her in detention for
approximately ten months, and eventually released her on December 8,
2022, in exchange for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout;
Whereas, on April 11, 2022, the Government of the Russian Federation arrested
United States permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza for criticizing
renewed invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and resulting
ongoing war and the criminality of the Government of the Russian
Federation, and sentenced Kara-Murza on April 17, 2023, to a 25-year
sentence for ``high treason'';
Whereas human rights groups in the Russian Federation estimate that the
Government of the Russian Federation holds nearly 20,000 political
prisoners in Russian jails, including, until his February 2024 death in
a Siberian gulag, opposition leader Alexei Navalny;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has kidnapped more than 19,000
Ukrainian children and abducted them to the Russian Federation,
resulting in President Vladimir Putin being indicted by the
International Criminal Court for war crimes;
Whereas, under Vladimir Putin, Russian courts are neither independent nor fair
in the administration of justice and are entirely beholden to the
political whims of Putin;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has refused to provide neither
minimal due process nor fair independent legal proceedings for United
States citizens Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva, Fogel, and Khavana;
Whereas the Department of State has called for the release of Gershkovich,
Whelan, Kurmasheva, Fogel, and Khavana;
Whereas the arrest and continued detention of Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva,
Fogel, and Khavana amount to hostage taking by the Government of the
Russian Federation: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) condemns--
(A) the arbitrary arrest and continued detention of
United States citizens Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan,
Alsu Kurmasheva, Marc Fogel, and Ksenia Khavana, and
United States permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza by
the Government of the Russian Federation;
(B) the hostage taking of United States citizens by
a Permanent Member of the United Nations Security
Council; and
(C) the ongoing persecution, arrest, and political
imprisonment of ordinary Russian citizens and human
rights defenders who call for the end of the war in
Ukraine and demand freedom in the Russian Federation;
(2) urges the Department of State to determine that Alsu
Kurmasheva, Marc Fogel, Ksenia Khavana, and Vladimir Kara-Murza
have been wrongfully detained by the Government of the Russian
Federation; and
(3) calls on the immediate and unconditional release of
United States citizens Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu
Kurmasheva, Marc Fogel, and Ksenia Khavana, and United States
permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza.
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