Congressman Cohen Seeks Presidential Medal of Freedom for Vladimir Kara-Murza

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Political Prisoners, today wrote to President Biden urging him to honor imprisoned Russian dissident and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza with a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The letter reads in part:

“Vladimir is more than deserving of this honor as one of the greatest champions of democracy and freedom in the world.

“Vladimir’s bravery and sacrifice will inspire Russians for generations to come. Like Boris Nemstov and Alexei Navalny, Vladimir refuses to back down to bullies like Putin. Despite knowing he would most likely be arrested, he went back to Russia to spread the truth about Putin’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine.

He was arrested on his trip to Russia for giving a speech to the Arizona legislature in March 2022 about the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. He was subsequently charged with treason for three public speeches to the U.S. Helsinki Commission, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee denouncing political repression in Russia. He is currently serving a 25-year sentence at Penal Colony No. 7 in the Siberian city of Omsk.

“Vladimir is well known in the U.S. Congress for his work promoting the U.S. Magnitsky Act which freezes assets and bans visas of gross human rights violators and has developed a following among the American people from his work as a regular columnist for The Washington Post. Vladimir testified in front of Congress on many occasions about the importance of sanctioning members of the Putin regime for their role in human rights abuse and kleptocracy. He gave similar testimonies to parliaments and legislative bodies in many countries around the world. As a result of his work, 35 countries now have a version of the Magnitsky Act.

“His work is brave, inspiring and important to the entire free world. I hope you will consider awarding Vladimir Kara-Murza a Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

See the entire letter here.

# # #