Thursday, Oct. 5 — Virginia’s U.S. Senator Tim Kaine has joined Rep. Jennifer Wexton urging President Biden to designate Vladimir Kara-Murza, a lawful U.S. permanent resident of Virginia’s 10th District who has been wrongfully detained by Russian authorities since April of 2022, as an “unlawfully or wrongfully detained” U.S. national under U.S. federal law. Kara-Murza went missing for several weeks last month before it was revealed he is currently being held in solitary confinement at a maximum-security prison in Siberia. The Virginia lawmakers urged the President to order the State Department to work with the Russian government to ensure that he is freed from his unjust detention.
“Vladimir has risked his life to fight for the highest ideals of our country and our Commonwealth – for democracy, the respect for human rights and the rule of law, justice and accountability, and the triumph of freedom over tyranny. His life’s work dedicated to this last value – reflected in our own state motto, Sic semper tyrannis – makes us immensely proud to call Vladimir our constituent and to stand with him at this dangerous time while he faces the wrath of a murderous tyrant. We urge you to support his designation and ensure our constituent knows that we share in his hope that he will return to his wife, his children, and his home as a free man,” wrote Wexton and Kaine.
Kara-Murza has been a longtime target of Russian authorities. After surviving two poisoning attempts by Russian officials in 2015 and 2017 as a result of his criticism of the Putin regime, he was detained in April 2022 after being charged with treason, spreading false information about the military, and working with an “undesirable” civil society organization following a speech he gave to the Arizona House of Representatives where he expressed his opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He was sentenced in April 2023 to serve 25 years in a Russian penal colony.
Prior to being handed his sentence, Kara-Murza endured a yearlong struggle with brutal conditions during his pretrial detention. He lost 40 pounds while detained, and also lost his ability to feel in his extremities, which according to his lawyers and family is a product of his polyneuropathy, a nerve condition that he suffers from as a result of the Russian government’s previous attempts to poison him and that was exacerbated by the denial of adequate medical care and treatment. They warn that if he continues to suffer from the brutal conditions of his imprisonment, he is at risk of further damage to his health.
