WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the one-year anniversary of Vladimir Kara-Murza’s imprisonment in Russia approaches, democracy organizations are calling on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to declare Kara-Murza unlawfully detained and elevate his case to the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. Kara-Murza, a Russian democracy advocate and U.S. lawful permanent resident, was wrongfully arrested in Russia on April 11, 2022, following a media appearance. Kara-Murza’s wife Evgenia Kara-Murza, the McCain Institute at Arizona State University, Free Russia Foundation, Human Rights First, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, and Human Rights Foundation sent a letter to Secretary Blinken calling for the declaration.
“As we rapidly approach the one-year anniversary of his unlawful arrest on April 11, 2023, we are writing to request that you declare Mr. Kara-Murza, as a U.S. lawful permanent resident, to be unlawfully or wrongfully detained and transfer responsibility for his case to the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA), Ambassador Roger D. Carstens…” the letter states.
“As a lawful permanent resident (i.e., a Green Card holder) with significant ties to the United States, Mr. Kara-Murza is within the definition of ‘United States national’ as defined in the Levinson Act… He has significant ties to the United States as he resides legally in Virginia with his wife and three American-born children and has been a resident there for more than 10 years.”
Read the full text of the letter below.
March 28, 2023
The Honorable
Antony J. Blinken
The Secretary of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20520
RE: Wrongful or Unlawful Detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza
Dear Secretary Blinken,
On behalf of the family of Russian democracy advocate Vladimir Kara-Murza and the undersigned organizations we wish to recognize all your efforts to procure the release of Mr. Kara-Murza from his arbitrary, unlawful, and wrongful year-long detention. We also recognize your efforts for many others unlawfully or wrongfully detained by the Russian Federation and other countries around the world.
As we rapidly approach the one-year anniversary of his unlawful arrest on April 11, 2023, we are writing to request that you declare Mr. Kara-Murza, as a U.S. lawful permanent resident, to be unlawfully or wrongfully detained and transfer responsibility for his case to the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA), Ambassador Roger D. Carstens, as permitted by 22 U.S.C. § 1741(a)&(b) of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (the “Levinson Act”).
Under § 1741(a) of the Levinson Act, the Secretary of State “shall review the cases of United States nationals detained abroad to determine if there is credible information that they are being detained unlawfully or wrongfully.”
As a lawful permanent resident (i.e., a Green Card holder) with significant ties to the United States, Mr. Kara-Murza is within the definition of “United States national” as defined in the Levinson Act, specifically 22 U.S.C. § 1741e(2)(B). He has significant ties to the United States as he resides legally in Virginia with his wife and three American-born children and has been a resident there for more than 10 years.
The State and Treasury Departments have formally stated Mr. Kara-Murza is arbitrarily detained. More importantly, Mr. Kara-Murza’s detention meets seven out of the 11 non-exclusive criteria of § 1741(a) of the Levinson Act, based on which you, as Secretary of State, can determine whether a U.S. national is being “detained unlawfully or wrongfully” abroad.
There is credible information that Mr. Kara-Murza is unlawfully or wrongfully detained. This information includes (1) credible information indicating his innocence of the crimes alleged, (2) that the detention appears to be because he sought to exercise the rights to freedom of the press and to peacefully assemble; (3) independent nongovernmental organizations and journalists have raised legitimate questions about his innocence; (4) the United States mission in Russia has received credible reports that the detention is a pretext for an illegitimate purpose; (5) Russia is a country that the Department of State has determined does not have an independent or impartial judicial system, is susceptible to corruption, and is incapable of rendering just verdicts; (6) the detention is arbitrary as a result of due process of the law being sufficiently impaired; and (7) United States diplomatic engagement is likely necessary to secure his release.
Therefore, we request that you declare Vladimir Kara-Murza to be unlawfully or wrongfully detained and transfer the responsibility for his case to the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. As defined in 22 U.S.C. §1741 et seq., Mr. Kara-Murza is a United States national who, based on the totality of the circumstances, is unlawfully or wrongfully detained, and should be declared as such by the United States Secretary of State.
We look forward to your thoughtful determination.
Sincerely,
Evgenia Kara-Murza & McCain Institute, Free Russia Foundation, Human Rights First, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, and Human Rights Foundation
