Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 958, which condemns politically motivated imprisonment by the Russian Government and calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Russia. According to the Memorial Human Rights Center, there are more than 300 political prisoners in Russia today. These prisoners are human rights advocates, journalists, Ukrainians from Crimea, and American citizens like Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed. It has been common practice for the Kremlin to target opposition figures as an act of political revenge. Russian authorities regularly abuse counterterrorism laws and Interpol's Red Notice system to silence critics and deny them fundamental human rights. We must not only condemn these abuses, but we must increase the economic and political cost for Russian officials who engage in unjust imprisonments and political retaliation. This resolution calls on the Departments of State and Treasury to use the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 and the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to pursue Russia officials who are responsible for or complicit in politically motivated imprisonment. I remember in 2012, we all worked together to put this very important law on the books. No one deserves to be used as a political pawn by Vladimir Putin. It is critical that Congress strongly condemns and takes action against Russia's wrongful imprisonments. Mr.…”