A resolution calling on the Government of the Russian Federation to provide evidence or to release United States citizen Paul Whelan.

III 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 165 Calling on the Government of the Russian Federation to provide evidence or to release United States citizen Paul Whelan. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 20, 2021 Mr. PETERS (for himself, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. CORNYN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations JUNE 24, 2021 Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, without amendment and with an amendment to the preamble JULY 22, 2021 Considered and agreed to with an amended preamble RESOLUTION Calling on the Government of the Russian Federation to provide evidence or to release United States citizen Paul Whelan. Whereas United States citizen Paul Whelan is a resident of Novi, Michigan, and a United States Marine Corps vet- eran; Whereas Paul Whelan traveled to Moscow for the wedding of a personal friend on December 22, 2018; VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:54 Jul 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR165.ATS SR165 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 SRES 165 ATS Whereas Russia’s Federal Security Service arrested Paul Whelan at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow on December 28, 2018, and charged him with espionage; Whereas the Federal Security Service has never provided any evidence of supposed wrongdoing; Whereas Paul Whelan was imprisoned in Lefortovo Prison and was held there for more than 19 months after his arrest in pre-trial detention; Whereas the Federal Security Service has not provided any evidence of supposed wrongdoing; Whereas a Moscow court extended Paul Whelan’s pre-trial detention multiple times without publicly presenting jus- tification or evidence of wrongdoing; Whereas even Paul Whelan’s Federal Security Service-ap- pointed lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, said on May 24, 2019, ‘‘[The Federal Security Service] always roll[s] out what they have, but in this case, we’ve seen nothing con- crete against Whelan in five months. That means there is nothing.’’; Whereas the then United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Jon Huntsman, responded on April 12, 2019, to a question about the detention of Paul Whelan, ‘‘If the Russians have evidence, they should bring it for- ward. We have seen nothing. . . If there was a case, I think the evidence would have been brought forward by now’’; Whereas then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Rus- sian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on May 14, 2019, and urged him to ensure United States citizens are not unjustly held abroad; VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:54 Jul 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR165.ATS SR165 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 SRES 165 ATS Whereas the Kremlin has refused Paul Whelan full access to his lawyer and the so-called evidence against him, and his trial and sentencing were conducted almost entirely in Russian, a language Mr. Whelan does not read or speak; Whereas Lefortovo pre-trial detention facility and the Min- istry of Foreign Affairs refused to provide medical treat- ment for Paul Whelan’s medical condition, despite being aware of its worsening state, resulting in emergency sur- gery on May 29, 2020; Whereas Paul Whelan was wrongfully convicted on June 15, 2020, and sentenced to 16 years in a Russian labor camp by a three-judge panel, in a trial witnessed by United States Ambassador John Sullivan, who referred to it as ‘‘a mockery of justice’’ due to the denial of a fair trial and the exclusion of defense witnesses; Whereas, in August 2020, on an unknown day because he was moved secretly, Paul Whelan was transferred to camp IK–17, a penal labor camp in Mordovia, where he is forced to work 6 days a week in a garment factory; Whereas Ambassador John Sullivan, while visiting Paul Whelan at the labor camp in Mordovia, stated that ‘‘Rus- sian authorities . . . have never shown the world evi- dence of his guilt,’’ and reiterated his call that the Rus- sian authorities correct this injustice and release Mr. Whelan; and Whereas Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Rus- sian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on February 4, 2021, and urged him to release Americans detained in Russia, including Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed, so that they are able to return home to their families in the United States: Now, therefore, be it VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:54 Jul 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR165.ATS SR165 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 SRES 165 ATS Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) implores the Government of the Russian 2 Federation present credible evidence on the allega- 3 tions against Paul Whelan or immediately release 4 him from imprisonment; 5 (2) implores the Government of the Russian 6 Federation comply with its international treaty obli- 7 gations and provide unrestricted consular access to 8 Paul Whelan while he remains imprisoned in Russia; 9 (3) calls on the Government of the Russian 10 Federation to provide Paul Whelan and all other po- 11 litical prisoners their constitutionally afforded due 12 process rights and universally recognized human 13 rights; and 14 (4) expresses sympathy to the family of Paul 15 Whelan for this travesty to justice and personal 16 hardship, and expresses hope that their ordeal can 17 soon be brought to a just end. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:54 Jul 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR165.ATS SR165 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS