Durbin, Rubio, Tillis, Shaheen Call On Secretary Blinken To Impose Magnitsky Law Sanctions On Russian Officials Responsible For Poisoning And Jailing Of Opposition Leader Vladimir Kara-Murza

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, and U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to swiftly impose Magnitsky law related sanctions against Russian officials responsible for the arrest, jailing, and poisoning of Russian-opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza.

The Senators’ letter comes after the unanimous passage of their resolution calling for the release of Kara-Murza following his unwarranted imprisonment and two poisonings by Russian agents.

“Mr. Kara-Murza is a Russian patriot who has worked tirelessly for decades to advance the cause of freedom, democracy, and human rights for the Russian people.  He, along with his murdered Russian opposition colleague Boris Nemtsov, was a key voice in advocating for the Sergei Magnitsky Act (P.L. 112-208), which provided for sanctions against Russian human rights violators. For his efforts and, most recently, peaceful criticisms of the Russian war in Ukraine, Mr. Kara-Murza has faced multiple poisoning attempts and up to 15 years in jail. As such, we request the timely imposition of Magnitsky Act-related sanctions against all Russian officials responsible for his poisoning as well as his current arrest, jailing, and prosecution,” wrote the Senators.

The Senators continued, condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s criminalization of speaking out or making truthful statements about his barbaric war against Ukraine. Noting that Kara-Murza was jailed under these pretenses, the Senators urged Secretary Blinken to immediately use his authority under the Magnitsky Act to sanction Russians involved in Kara-Murza’s imprisonment.

“On April 11, five police officers arrested Mr. Kara-Murza in front of his Moscow home and denied his right to an attorney, and the following day he was spuriously sentenced to 15 days in prison for disobeying a police order. On April 22, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation charged him with violating the prohibition on statements condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years of detention in a penitentiary system that human rights groups have criticized for widespread torture, ill-treatment, and suspicious or deliberate deaths of prisoners. Those Russian police, intelligence, security, court, and top-level government officials responsible for his absurd and cowardly detention also deserve immediate assessment for sanctioning under the Magnitsky Act for which Mr. Kara-Murza so bravely advocated,” the Senators wrote.

The Senators concluded their letter to Secretary Blinken by sharing words of optimism from letters written to them by Kara-Murza as he awaits his trial in a Russian gulag.

“And yet, amid his detention and separation from his family, he remained optimistic, noting ‘Despite everything, I know that one day Russia will be free.’  We applaud his love of country and hope for a better future for the Russian people. We urge the administration to make sure those cowards trying to quash his efforts are fully sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act,” the Senators ended their letter.

Durbin met with Kara-Murza in March, prior to his jailing, to discuss Putin’s war on Ukraine and building support against the attacks. In June, Durbin met with Kara-Murza’s wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, to discuss his unjust detention and continued pressure to release him and other political prisoners.

In May, the Senate passed Durbin, Shaheen, and Rubio’s bipartisan resolution honoring Kara-Murza. The resolution also pays tribute to his advocacy for human rights in Russia and support for the anti-war movement. Additionally, it urges the U.S. and its allies to secure his release and that of Alexei Navalny and other Russian political prisoners, and calls for the U.S. government to support the cause of democracy and human rights in Russia. Durbin has also shared Kara-Murza’s story on the Senate floor.

Full text of the Senators’ letter is available here and below:

August 4, 2022

Dear Secretary Blinken:

            In late May, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution (S.Res. 632) we authored calling for the immediate release of Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has been unjustly jailed since April 11. Mr. Kara-Murza is a Russian patriot who has worked tirelessly for decades to advance the cause of freedom, democracy, and human rights for the Russian people.  He, along with his murdered Russian opposition colleague Boris Nemtsov, was a key voice in advocating for the Sergei Magnitsky Act (P.L. 112-208), which provided for sanctions against Russian human rights violators. For his efforts and, most recently, peaceful criticisms of the Russian war in Ukraine, Mr. Kara-Murza has faced multiple poisoning attempts and up to 15 years in jail. As such, we request the timely imposition of Magnitsky Act-related sanctions against all Russian officials responsible for his poisoning as well as his current arrest, jailing, and prosecution.

In May 2015 and again in February 2017, Mr. Kara-Murza fell ill with symptoms consistent with poisoning. During the second attempt, he was placed into a medically induced coma in the hopes of helping save his life. He survived both attempts, but faced a long and slow recovery. Independent investigations by Bellingcat, the Insider, and Der Spiegel found that the same unit of the Russian Federal Security Service implicated in the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny had also “systematically tailed Vladimir Kara-Murza before both his first and second medical emergencies^[1].”      

In February, shortly after Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched a military operation to further his attempted invasion of Ukraine, he signed a law criminalizing criticisms or truthful statements about the conflict, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Nonetheless, thousands of Russians have criticized the disastrous war, many ultimately facing arrest or government harassment. On April 11, five police officers arrested Mr. Kara-Murza in front of his Moscow home and denied his right to an attorney, and the following day he was spuriously sentenced to 15 days in prison for disobeying a police order. On April 22, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation charged him with violating the prohibition on statements condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years of detention in a penitentiary system that human rights groups have criticized for widespread torture, ill-treatment, and suspicious or deliberate deaths of prisoners. Those Russian police, intelligence, security, court, and top-level government officials responsible for his absurd and cowardly detention also deserve immediate assessment for sanctioning under the Magnitsky Act for which Mr. Kara-Murza so bravely advocated.

            Recently, Mr. Kara-Murza wrote to us from his Russian gulag, quoting Canadian human rights advocate and former justice minister Irwin Cotler who once wrote that "the worst nightmare for a political prisoner is to be forgotten.” And yet, amid his detention and separation from his family, he remained optimistic, noting, “Despite everything, I know that one day Russia will be free.” We applaud his love of country and hope for a better future for the Russian people. We urge the administration to make sure those cowards trying to quash his efforts are fully sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act.  

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