Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Co-Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today expressed his concern at Russia’s handling of the case against opposition leader and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza. With five days left in his 15-day sentence on administrative charges of disobeying police orders, Russian authorities today unveiled new criminal charges against Kara-Murza that allege he spread false information about the Russian military that could result in a ten-year prison sentence. Putin recently enacted laws prohibiting accurate reporting of the war in Ukraine as a war.
Mr. Kara-Murza testified before the Helsinki Commission last month about Vladimir Putin’s war on the truth.
Co-Chairman Cohen made the following statement:
“I must say I’m saddened but not surprised at this terrible but expected news. Mr. Kara-Murza has been an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, his war in Ukraine and his ongoing war on the truth. Putin’s goal is to keep the Russian people in the dark about the atrocities his armies are committing in Ukraine and the harm his authoritarian rule is doing to Russia. Silencing Mr. Kara-Murza helps achieve this end. It’s also further proof that he cannot tolerate a free press, free speech or free thought. As Mr. Kara-Murza described it himself, Russia is now like a scene out of George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984. This situation gives added emphasis to the importance of Ukraine winning the war before it spreads to other parts of Eastern Europe and directly involves NATO. The whole world is watching: Mr. Kara-Murza must be released.”
Original source can be found here.
