Congressmen Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Joe Wilson (SC-02) today introduced the Holding Russia Accountable for Malign Activities Act in response to the poisoning and baseless jailing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and other crimes against political opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concluded that Russian opposition leader Navalny was poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent which can only be used by the Russian Federation. The German government requested the analysis after Navalny was treated at a Berlin hospital after falling seriously ill in Russia in August.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
“Vladimir Putin’s and the Kremlin’s history of poisoning political opponents and dissidents, and their ongoing crackdown on protests, make this bill more important than ever. Putin’s violation of international norms calls for a strong response from the United States government, including sanctions. We must send a message to Putin that such malign activities will have serious consequences.”
Original source can be found here.
