This event will be livestreamed. Click the play button above or click here to watch the livestream on April 9 at 10:00 a.m. ET.
About the Event
Please join us to mark the two-year anniversary of the Kremlin’s unjust jailing of Russian prisoner of conscience, and a friend to many in Congress, Vladimir Kara-Murza.
The event will shine a spotlight on Vladimir’s case, especially in light of the recent death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison. The event will honor Vladimir’s legacy of helping the United States develop tools necessary to hold the Kremlin accountable for human rights abuses and corruption, his opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and his belief in a democratic future for Russia. We will use this platform to mobilize like-minded governments to act for Vladimir’s case, and highlight other political prisoners held by the Kremlin.
Members of Congress in attendance will be invited to speak about Vladimir, as well as other Russians jailed by the regime. Members will have the opportunity to write a note to Vladimir at the event. Event facilitators will transmit the notes so that Vladimir knows he is not forgotten. Media, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America, will be present to ensure that the display of support for Vladimir and other prisoners are broadcast in Russian to the Russian people.
This event will be hosted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), with the participation of esteemed guests Free Russia Foundation, McCain Institute, Freedom House, Center for European Policy Analysis, the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights, the Global Justice Magnitsky Campaign, Human Rights Foundation, Ronald Reagan Institute, the George W. Bush Institute, and Human Rights First.
About the Speakers
- Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) – Chair, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
- Evgenia Kara-Murza – Wife of Kara-Murza and Human Rights Advocate
- Damon Wilson – President and CEO, National Endowment for Democracy
- Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.)
- Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
- Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)
- Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.)
- Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
- Representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.)
- Representative Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)
- Māris Selga – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to the United States
- James Roscoe MVO – Deputy Head of Mission to the USA, British Embassy
- Sonata Coulter – Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Image courtesy of Free Russia Foundation.
