This resolution recognizes the sacrifices and bravery of the Russian people in their struggle for democracy, rule of law, and respect for human rights while enduring state-sponsored violence and oppression from Russian authorities. It also condemns the continued human rights violations committed by Russian authorities and calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 455 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 455
Expressing support for the people of Russia, condemning the Kremlin's
assault on human rights and the freedom of expression, and calling for
Vladimir Putin to immediately release Alexey Navalny.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 4, 2021
Mr. Keating (for himself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the people of Russia, condemning the Kremlin's
assault on human rights and the freedom of expression, and calling for
Vladimir Putin to immediately release Alexey Navalny.
Whereas the Russian Federation is a party to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the
principal documents of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE);
Whereas the Constitution of the Russian Federation states that the Russian
Federation is a ``democratic federal law-bound State with a republican
form of government'' in which ``political diversity and the multi-party
system shall be recognized'';
Whereas the Constitution of the Russian Federation states that ``fundamental
human rights and freedoms are inalienable'', and that everyone shall
have the right to ``life'', ``freedom and personal immunity'',
``association'', ``freedom of ideas and speech'', as well as the right
to ``assemble peacefully'';
Whereas the Russian Federation has continuously and increasingly violated the
fundamental human rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of
the Russian Federation as well as international law which it is
obligated to uphold;
Whereas Vladimir Putin orchestrated a sham plebiscite in July 2020, in a blatant
attempt to maintain power and control until at least 2036, that violated
the Constitution of the Russian Federation and OSCE commitments and was
widely condemned by international rules-based organizations;
Whereas Vladimir Putin's regime has used the Russian Federation's so-called
``Foreign Agent Law'' to eliminate and destroy the free and independent
media space as well as target civil society and dissenting voices in the
Russian Federation;
Whereas the Russian Federation has enacted and the Russian Duma is considering
expanding a law criminalizing engagement with so-called ``undesirable
foreign organizations'', the real purpose of which is to deny Russians
their basic rights to freedom of association and expression, which
includes the ability to see, receive, and impart information, including
across borders;
Whereas Vladimir Putin has enriched himself and his network of associates at the
expense of the Russian taxpayer through embezzlement, criminal schemes,
and the misuse of western financial systems;
Whereas the Kremlin and its agents have exported corruption and malign influence
activities to weaken democratic institutions and foment conflict beyond
its borders;
Whereas February 26, 2021, marked the seventh year since the Russian
Federation's assault on the sovereign territorial integrity of the
Republic of Ukraine by invading and illegally occupying the Donbass and
Crimea;
Whereas domestically, the Russian Federation has continued a sustained crackdown
on the freedoms of Russian citizens and persecuted over 12,000 political
opposition leaders, human rights defenders, civil society activists, and
journalists;
Whereas agents of the Russian Federation have repeatedly and consistently
utilized political assassinations and poisonings globally to silence
dissent and the opposition, and Russian authorities refused or failed to
investigate properly these cases;
Whereas February 27, 2021, marked the sixth anniversary of the assassination of
Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov;
Whereas the OSCE report on the investigation of the assassination of Boris
Nemtsov concluded in February 2020 that ``the main issue for addressing
impunity is not the capabilities of Russian law enforcement, but
political will'';
Whereas leading Russian opposition figure and anti-corruption activist Alexey
Navalny has exposed numerous cases of corruption by Russian politicians
and businesses, including most recently Putin's corrupt ownership of a
luxurious palace located on the Black Sea;
Whereas Alexey Navalny has continually faced political persecution, harassment,
and threats in response to his political activities;
Whereas Alexey Navalny collapsed during an August 2020 flight from Tomsk to
Moscow, requiring him to receive medical assistance first in Omsk and
then in Germany where doctors assessed that he had been exposed to the
Russian-made chemical weapon called Novichok;
Whereas the use of chemical weapons under any circumstances constitutes a
reprehensible crime under international law, in particular under the
Chemical Weapons Convention;
Whereas the Deputy Chief Physician at Omsk Emergency Hospital No. 1 who treated
Alexey Navalny after his poisoning and who was in charge of the
department that oversaw Alexey Navalny's care and recovery, died
unexpectedly on February 4, 2021;
Whereas the head of trauma and orthopedics department at Omsk Emergency Hospital
No. 1, who also treated Navalny, died on March 26, 2021;
Whereas the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, whose
technical assistance had been requested by the Government of Germany,
confirmed that Alexey Navalny was indeed poisoned by the nerve agent
Novichok;
Whereas a joint investigation by Bellingcat and The Insider, in cooperation with
Der Spiegel and CNN, reported on the Russian security services'
involvement in Russia's chemical weapons program, which targeted Alexey
Navalny;
Whereas prominent political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza has been targeted twice
by the Kremlin via similar poisonings conducted by the Russian
Federation;
Whereas the Office of the Director of National Intelligence assessed in the 2021
Annual Threat Assessment Unclassified Report that the Russian Federal
Security Service (FSB) organized the assassination of a Chechen
separatist in a Berlin park in 2019 and tried to kill Alexey Navalny
with a fourth-generation chemical agent;
Whereas following his recovery in Germany, Alexey Navalny returned to the
Russian Federation on January 17, 2021, where he was immediately
detained for violating his parole from a 2014 conviction that the
European Court of Human Rights had determined to be ``arbitrary and
manifestly unreasonable'';
Whereas, on February 2, 2021, in hastily convened proceedings that were an
affront to due process, Alexey Navalny had his probation revoked and was
sentenced to roughly two and a half years in prison for violating his
parole while in Germany in a coma recovering from the Kremlin-led
assassination attempt;
Whereas surrounding Alexey Navalny's sentencing, hundreds of thousands of
Russian citizens across the country braved freezing temperatures to show
support for Navalny, constituting the largest protests in decades in
which they called President Putin a ``thief'' and demanded Navalny's
release;
Whereas during these peaceful demonstrations Russian authorities used harsh
physical punishment and repression tactics, and arbitrarily detained
over 12,000 peaceful protesters and journalists;
Whereas in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, peaceful protesters have been held in
overflowing detention centers, in many cases overnight with little to no
access to food, water, proper sanitation, and no COVID-19 precautions;
Whereas following Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's live coverage of Alexey
Navalny's return to Russia, his arrest and the subsequent protests, the
Putin regime accelerated its crackdown on RFE/RL's Russia operations,
levying large fines and court actions against it for refusing to abide
by a discriminatory administrative order to prominently label every
individual web article, social media post, video and radio broadcast
with a ``foreign agent'' label in an attempt to undermine RFE/RL's
reputation for independence and intimidate RFE/RL's large audience in
Russia;
Whereas Russians, particularly Russian youth, have used social media to debunk
state-sponsored disinformation and encourage peaceful demonstrations,
leading to a renewed crackdown against social media by Russian
authorities;
Whereas Russia expelled diplomats from Poland, Germany, and Sweden on February
8, 2021, after they observed pro-Navalny protests;
Whereas the European Parliament issued a Joint Motion for a Resolution on
January 20, 2021, calling for the immediate release of Alexey Navalny
and all other individuals detained in relation to his return to Russia
and condemning Russian authorities' use of chemical nerve agents against
its own citizens and continued attacks on dissidents and civil society
through attempts to silence any opposition;
Whereas the January 20, 2021, European Parliament resolution also calls on the
EU and its Member States to expand sanctions against Russia and ``to
critically review cooperation with Russia in various foreign policy
platforms and on projects such as Nord Stream 2, the completion of which
the EU must stop immediately'', following Navalny's wrongful
imprisonment;
Whereas the European Court of Human Rights has on February 16, 2021, called for
the ``immediate'' release of Alexey Navalny by the Russian authorities
under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court;
Whereas the Biden administration imposed costs for harmful foreign activities by
the Government of the Russian Federation, including imposing additional
sanctions on entities supporting Russian malign influence activities,
expelling Russian diplomats, and formally attributing the Russian
Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) as the perpetrator of the SolarWinds
cyber attack;
Whereas Amnesty International on February 10, 2021, issued a joint letter with
84 other human rights organizations from around the world calling on the
United Nations Human Rights Council to respond to the human rights
abuses being committed by authorities in Russia and the recent crackdown
on dissent and voices of independent civil society in the Russian
Federation that violates citizens' rights to freedoms of expression,
association, and assembly;
Whereas, on March 13, 2021, the Kremlin security services entered a Congress of
elected municipal deputies and arrested nearly 200 people for the crime
of not adhering to the Kremlin's command of how to interact with local
constituents;
Whereas some of those charged include elected leaders such as Ilya Yashin and
Yulia Galyamina, pro-democracy reformers Andrey Pivovarov and Anastasia
Burakova, and well-known politician Vladimir Kara-Murza;
Whereas Mr. Navalny's press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, and activist Lyubov Sobol,
have continually faced political persecution for their actions in
support of Alexey Navalny and the democratic movement in Russia;
Whereas Alexey Navalny began a twenty-four day hunger strike on March 31, 2021,
in an attempt to receive appropriate medical attention, which he ended
after he was transferred to a prison hospital due to his deteriorating
health condition;
Whereas, on April 16, 2021, the Kremlin designated Alexey Navalny's Anti-
Corruption Foundation and his regional political headquarters as
``extremist groups'', effectively liquidating the organization in Russia
and, following this designation, legislation has been introduced that
would prohibit any person who has ever worked, volunteered, or donated
to ``extremist'' organizations from running in elections for several
years;
Whereas, on September 19, 2021, the Russian Federation will hold its
parliamentary elections, ahead of which the Kremlin has introduced
policies that might prohibit opposition leaders from participating in
the election;
Whereas, on April 24, 2021, Alexey Navalny's doctors published an open letter
with detailed analysis of his condition, concluding that there is a
grave danger to his health and that he is not receiving adequate
treatment and should be allowed to receive independent medical
inspection;
Whereas more than 200 world-renowned writers, historians, artists, as well as
Russian philanthropy leaders, economists, and medical professionals have
written open letters calling on Vladimir Putin to ensure Alexey
Navalny's access to proper medical treatment;
Whereas, on April 23, 2021, the independent media outlet Meduza, which has been
providing detailed coverage of Alexey Navalny's investigations,
activism, persecution, and protests in his support, and which published
the open letter of over 70 Russian charity leaders and philanthropists
demanding Alexey Navalny be granted access to qualified medical care,
was designated by the Government of the Russian Federation as a
``foreign agent media'', in a clear attempt to undermine its ability to
retain and engage with its readers and supporters and to limit the
Russian citizens' access to objective journalism;
Whereas bipartisan members of the United States House of Representatives and
Senate have condemned the blatant poisoning of Alexey Navalny by Russian
authorities;
Whereas the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
transmitted letters to the executive branch triggering a mandatory
investigation into Russia's use of chemical weapons in the poisoning of
Alexey Navalny, as required under the Chemical and Biological Weapons
Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991; and
Whereas the United States and its allies and partners must stand together with
the Russian people and condemn the Russian government's human rights
abuses: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the sacrifices and bravery of the Russian
people in their struggle for democracy, rule of law, and
respect for human rights while enduring state-sponsored
violence and oppression from Russian authorities;
(2) remembers the numerous Soviet and Russian dissidents
who have been persecuted and repressed by the authorities;
(3) condemns the continued human rights violations
committed by Russian authorities against peaceful
demonstrators, civil society activists, opposition leaders,
students, educators, medical personnel, and journalists, among
others, and calls for such authorities to halt any further acts
of violence against its own citizens;
(4) calls on Russian authorities to remove legal
restrictions to Russians' basic rights to freedom of
association and expression;
(5) finds the continued detention of Alexey Navalny to be
baseless and a violation of his fundamental due process rights
as protected under the Russian Constitution and calls for his
immediate release;
(6) calls for the immediate release of all political
prisoners, including those detained in connection with the
peaceful demonstrations in response to the detention of Alexey
Navalny;
(7) calls on the Secretary of State and the Secretary of
the Treasury to use their authority under 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) to
designate individuals whom they determine upon investigation to
have been involved in the poisoning of Alexey Navalny and
Vladimir Kara-Murza, as perpetrators, organizers, or
masterminds, on the list of specially designated nationals and
blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets
Control of the Department of the Treasury, freezing their
assets and making them ineligible to receive United States
visas;
(8) urges the United States Government to continue to raise
the case and call for the release of Alexey Navalny, and all
other political prisoners, in all of its interactions with the
Government of the Russian Federation;
(9) urges the Russian Federation to immediately halt all
production of banned chemical weapons and allow for independent
verification by the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons;
(10) calls for increased coordination among the United
States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and
other allies and partners to increase the cost for the Russian
Federation's continued human rights violations; and
(11) continues to support the aspirations of the people of
the Russian Federation for a democratic future based on human
rights, transparency, and the rule of law.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber.
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