Roger Wicker: “time is running out. Time is running out for Vladimir Kara-Murza. I was just at an event across the street with Vladimir…”

“time is running out. Time is running out for Vladimir Kara-Murza. I was just at an event across the street with Vladimir Kara-Murza's wife Evgenia and their children. It was a bipartisan meeting of House and Senate Members and interested citizens. We all agree Secretary of State Blinken must secure the release of this U.S. permanent resident and Russian political prisoner, Vladimir Kara-Murza, before it is too late because, as I said, time is running out. In the spring of 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza spoke the truth about Russia's evil invasion of Ukraine. The Putin regime responded by arresting Mr. Kara-Murza and sentencing him to 25 years in jail for speaking the truth. Only a corrupt regime would make it a crime to express an opinion to speak the truth. But that is what Vladimir Putin has done. He has arrested an innocent person and put him in jail for speaking the truth. It has been a year since I led a bipartisan group of 81 lawmakers in an appeal to the Secretary of State--this same Secretary of State Blinken. It was the first anniversary of Mr. Kara-Murza's imprisonment. We urged the administration, on a bipartisan, bicameral basis, to label Vladimir ``unlawfully and wrongfully detained.'' We asked for that designation because that title is more than just words under the statute. It would prioritize Mr. Kara-Murza's case at the State Department, and it would unlock new tools for our negotiators to act with speed and success to get him released.…”