Pichugin;
and
Danish citizen Jehovah's Witness Dennis Christensen.
According
to
the
text of the resolution, published on the congressional
website, the House
of Representatives condemns the practice of imprisonment for
political reasons,
and it demands that Russian authorities release persons who
are recognized as
political prisoners by the Memorial human rights center, whose
list includes
journalists, activists of civil society, rights advocates,
members of public
organizations, and also Ukrainian citizens from the "illegally
annexed
Crimea."
In
all,
Memorial's list of political prisoners has more than 300
persons, the majority
of whom were convicted for religious reasons because of
membership in religious
organizations that are considered in Russia to be extremist.
The
Resolution Number 958 of the U.S.A. Congress includes several
specific names:
the former Yukos employee Aleksei Pichugin; activists
Konstantin Kotov and
Anastasia Chevchenko; the journalist and head of the
Kaliningrad newspaper Novye
Kolesa, Igor Rudnikov (who is already at liberty); the
historian and head of
the Karelian department of the Memorial human rights center,
Yuru Dmitriev; and
the Danish citizen Dennis Christensen, who was convicted
because of the
activity of the Jehovah's Witnesses organization, which is
banned in Russia.
The
resolution contains a call to all representatives of the
U.S.A. in negotiations
with Russia to raise the topic of political prisoners. It also
contains a call
to apply the Magnitsky Act or other laws sanctioning persons
who are
responsible for illegal imprisonment of people in Russia. In
the opinion of
lawmakers, the government of the U.S.A. must determine the
appropriate
"Russian officials," NewsRu.com reports.
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