| 00:00:00 | ABUSE TO PUBLIC ATTENTION AND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN RUSSIA, BUT IN MANY OTHER AREAS WHERE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS HAVE OCCURRED. |
| 00:00:09 | I WOULD BE GLAD TO ALLOW MY COLLEAGUES SOME TIME ON THIS ISSUE. |
| 00:00:14 | MR. WICKER: WELL, I THANK MY COLLEAGUE FROM MARYLAND. |
| 00:00:16 | YES, INDEED, THERE ARE OTHER CASES OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED TIME AND AGAIN ON THIS SENATE FLOOR, BEING THE CASES OF MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY AND LESBIAN BED HE -- LEBEDEV. |
| 00:00:48 | THE STORY ABOUT CORRUPTION WITHIN THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT ITSELF. |
| 00:00:51 | MY COLLEAGUES AND I WILL CONTINUE TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT THESE CASES IN THE HOPE THAT ATTENTION WILL INSPIRE CHANGE. |
| 00:00:58 | I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY WHEN A FOCUS OF A FLOOR STATEMENT CAN BE ABOUT THE PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE WITH RUSSIA. |
| 00:01:05 | IT'S SOMETHING MY COLLEAGUE AND I DEARLY LOOK FORWARD TO. |
| 00:01:08 | WE LOOK FOR THE DAY WHEN RUSSIA BEGINS TO UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RULE OF LAW, BUT UNFORTUNATELY TODAY IS NOT THE DAY. |
| 00:01:16 | IN RECENT MONTHS, AN OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF HEADLINES OUT OF RUSSIA FOCUS ON THE RUSSIAN SPRING. |
| 00:01:25 | OPPOSITION GROUPS, CITIZENS AND IN MANY CASES THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA HAVE REACTED TO MOVES BY THE RUSSIAN REGIME THEY VIEW AS NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE. |
| 00:01:33 | ON SEPTEMBER 24 OF LAST YEAR, PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV STRUCK A DEAL THAT WOULD CLEAR THE WAY FOR HIS PREDECESSOR, VLADIMIR PUTIN, TO RUN NEXT MONTH FOR A THIRD PRESIDENTIAL TERM. |
| 00:01:47 | AS THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL" NOTED IN AN OPINION PIECE LAST DECEMBER, EVEN THE MOST THICK-SKINNED CITIZENS SAW THAT TURNING THE PRESIDENCY INTO THE OBJECT OF A PRIVATE SWAP AND MADE A MOCKERY OF THE CONSTITUTION. |
| 00:02:01 | RUSSIA'S FRAUDULENT PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN DECEMBER FURTHER DEEPENED THE POLITICAL CRISIS AND AFFIRMED THE EROSION OF DEMOCRACY. |
| 00:02:10 | SECRETARY CLINTON, OUR SECRETARY OF STATE, CALLED THEM NEITHER FREE NOR FAIR. |
| 00:02:15 | SO THIS IS A BIPARTISAN DENUNCIATION OF THE PROCESS. |
| 00:02:20 | OBSERVERS HAVE CLAIMED THAT 12% TO 15% OF THE VOTES WERE FALSIFIED IN FAVOR OF THE UNITED RUSSIA PARTY. |
| 00:02:27 | ACCORDING TO MOST ANALYSTS, IMPROVEMENT IS NOT EXPECTED IN THE UPCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION THIS MARCH. |
| 00:02:38 | BUT THESE CORRUPT ACTIONS HAVE NOT BEEN IGNORED. |
| 00:02:40 | ON DECEMBER 10, MORE THAN 60,000 RUSSIANS TOOK TO THE STREETS OF MOSCOW IN PROTEST. |
| 00:02:46 | SIMILARLY ON FEBRUARY , SOME 120,000 CITIZENS BRAVED BELOW ZERO WEATHER IN CENTRAL MOSCOW. |
| 00:02:58 | THEIR DEMANDS WERE CLEAR: RELEASE POLITICAL PRISONERS LIKE HOTOKOVSKI AND LEBEDEV. |
| 00:03:10 | ALLOW OPPOSITION PARTIES TO REGISTER. |
| 00:03:12 | PLEDGE NOT TO GIVE A SINGLE VOTE TO PUTIN ON MARCH 4. |
| 00:03:17 | SIMILAR RALLIES WERE HELD ACROSS -- IN SMALL TOWNS ACROSS RUSSIA. |
| 00:03:21 | WE CAN BE GLAD FOR THE CALL FOR REFORM, AND WE'RE GLAD THAT IT'S GROWING LOUDER. |
| 00:03:27 | ACCORDING TO A FEBRUARY POLL BY RUSSIA'S INDEPENDENT LAVATA CENTER, 43% OF RUSSIANS NOW SUPPORT PRO-DEMOCRACY PROTESTS. |
| 00:03:38 | ADDITIONAL PROTESTS ARE ALREADY SCHEDULED FOR LATER THIS MONTH. |
| 00:03:42 | NOW, SPECIFICALLY LET ME ONCE AGAIN UNDERSCORE THE HORRIFIC FACTS ABOUT SERGEI MAGNITSKY BECAUSE IT NEEDS TO BE HEARD AND PERHAPS SOME OF OUR COLLEAGUES WERE NOT LISTENING THE FIRST TIME. |
| 00:04:02 | IN THE MIDST OF THIS PUBLIC OUTCRY AND DEMAND FOR DEMOCRATIC PROCESS, THE NEWS OUT OF RUSSIA WITH REGARD TO MR. |
| 00:04:09 | MAGNITSKY IS ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE. |
| 00:04:11 | JUST LAST WEEK IT WAS REVEALED THAT THE POLICE IN RUSSIA PLAN TO RETRY THE TAX EVASION CASE OF THE LATE SERGEI MAGNITSKY. |
| 00:04:19 | AS MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES ARE AWARE, MR. |
| 00:04:22 | MAGNITSKY IS ALREADY DEAD. |
| 00:04:24 | HE DIED IN RUSSIAN DETENTION MORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO. |
| 00:04:27 | HE WAS A LAWYER AND A PARTNER IN AN AMERICAN-OWNED LAW FIRM BASED IN MOSCOW. |
| 00:04:34 | HE WAS MARRIED WITH TWO CHILDREN, AS MY FRIEND HAS SAID. |
| 00:04:38 | HIS CLIENTS INCLUDED THE HERMITAGE FUND, WHICH IS THE LARGEST FOREIGN PORTFOLIO INVESTOR IN RUSSIA. |
| 00:04:48 | THROUGH HIS INVESTIGATIVE WORK ON BEHALF OF HERMITAGE, MR. |
| 00:04:52 | MAGNITSKY DISCOVERED THAT RUSSIAN INTERIOR MINISTRY OFFICERS, TAX OFFICIALS, AND ORGANIZED CRIMINALS WORKED TOGETHER TO STEAL $230 MILLION IN PUBLIC FUNDS, ORCHESTRATING THE LARGEST TAX REBATE FRAUD IN THE HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN REPUBLIC. |
| 00:05:13 | IN 2008, MR. |
| 00:05:15 | MAGNITSKY VOLUNTARILY GAVE SWORN TESTIMONY AGAINST OFFICIALS FROM THE INTERIOR MINISTRY, RUSSIAN TAX DEPARTMENTS, AND THE PRIVATE CRIMINALS WHOM HE FOUND HAD HAD PERPETRATED THE FRAUD. |
| 00:05:25 | A MONTH LATER, AN ARREST WAS MADE. |
| 00:05:30 | AND THE PERSON ARRESTED WAS MR. |
| 00:05:32 | MAGNITSKY HIMSELF. |
| 00:05:34 | HE WAS PLACED IN PRETRIAL DETENTION AND HE WAS HELD WITHOUT TRIAL FOR 12 MONTHS. |
| 00:05:42 | WHILE IN CUSTODY HE WAS PRESSURED AND TORTURED BY RUSSIAN OFFICIALS HOPING HE WOULD WITHDRAW HIS TESTIMONY, AND FALSELY INCRIMINATE HIMSELF AND HIS CLIENT. |
| 00:05:52 | BUT HE REFUSED TO DO SO. |
| 00:05:55 | AND HIS CONDITIONS WORSENED AND HIS HEALTH WORSENED, MR. |
| 00:06:00 | PRESIDENT. HE SPENT MONTHS WITHOUT MEDICAL CARE. |
| 00:06:04 | REQUESTS FOR MEDICAL EXAMINATION AND SURGERY WERE DENIED BY RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. |
| 00:06:12 | ON NOVEMBER 13, 2009, MR. |
| 00:06:16 | MAGNITSKY'S CONDITION DETERIORATED DRAMATICALLY. |
| 00:06:19 | DOCTORS SAW HIM ON NOVEMBER 16 WHEN HE WAS TRANSFERRED TO A MOSCOW DETENTION CENTER THAT ACTUALLY HAD MEDICAL FACILITIES. |
| 00:06:27 | YET INSTEAD OF BEING TREATED AT THOSE FACILITIES IMMEDIATELY, HE WAS PLACED IN AN ISOLATION CELL, HANDCUFFED, BEATEN UNTIL HE DIED. |
| 00:06:40 | IN THE MONTHS FOLLOWING HIS DEATH, RUSSIAN OFFICIALS REPEATEDLY DENIED FACTS CONCERNING HIS HEALTH CONDITION. |
| 00:06:48 | THE RUSSIANS STATE -- RUSSIAN STATE INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE CLAIMED THAT MAGNITSKY WAS NOT PRESSURED, NOR TORTURED, BUT DIED NATURALLY OF HEART DISEASE, AND HIS DEATH WAS NOBODY'S FAULT. |
| 00:07:03 | THIS IS FROM THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT. |
| 00:07:05 | SINCE THEN, MR. |
| 00:07:07 | MAGNITSKY -- SINCE MR. |
| 00:07:08 | MAGNITSKY'S DEATH, TWO SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS HAVE HELPED CLARIFY SOME OF THE FACTS. |
| 00:07:16 | IN LATE DECEMBER OF 2009, THE MOSCOW PUBLIC OVERSIGHT COMMISSION, AN INDEPENDENT WATCHDOG MANDATED UNDER RUSSIAN LAW TO MONITOR HUMAN RIGHTS, ISSUED ITS CONCLUSIONS ON THIS CASE. |
| 00:07:31 | AND THIS INDEPENDENT RUSSIAN OVERSIGHT COMMISSION STATED THAT IN DETENTION MAGNITSKY HAD BEEN SUBJECTED TO TORTURE, PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESSURE, THAT HE WAS DENIED MEDICAL CARE, AND THAT HIS RIGHT TO LIFE HAD BEEN VIOLATED BY THE RUSSIAN STATE. |
| 00:07:52 | THE CONCLUSIONS WERE SENT TO THE RUSSIAN GENERAL PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE, THE RUSSIAN STATE INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE, THE RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF JUSTICE, AND THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION. |
| 00:08:04 | NONE OF THESE AGENCIES HAVE RESPONDED TO THE REPORT'S CONCLUSIONS. |
| 00:08:10 | NOW, MORE RECENTLY A SECOND FINDING WAS ISSUED BY THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT'S HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL. |
| 00:08:17 | IT ISSUED IT INDEPENDENT EXPERT FINDINGS ON THE CASE. |
| 00:08:21 | THE REPORT FOUND THAT MAGNITSKY WAS ARRESTED ON TRUMPED-UP CHARGES, YET THEY'RE BEING BROUGHT FORWARD AGAIN AFTER HIS UNFORTUNATE DEATH. |
| 00:08:33 | IN BREACH OF RUSSIAN LAW, AND IN BREACH OF THE EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS CONVENTION AND THAT HIS PROSECUTION WAS UNLAWFUL, THAT HE WAS SYSTEMICALLY DENIED MEDICAL CARE AND THAT HE WAS BEATEN IN CUSTODY, WHICH WAS THE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF HIS DEATH AND THAT HIS MEDICAL RECORDS WERE FALSIFIED AND THAT THERE IS AN ONGOING COVER-UP AND RESISTANCE BY ALL GOVERNMENT BODIES TO INVESTIGATE. |
| 00:09:04 | MR. PRESIDENT, SENATOR CARDIN AND I AND SENATOR McCAIN AND OTHERS HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO CONTINUE COMING TO THIS FLOOR, CONTINUE USING EVERY FORUM THAT WE CAN POSSIBLY USE TO BRING THESE FACTS TO LIGHT. |
| 00:09:25 | AND -- I WOULD YIELD BACK, I'VE TAKEN QUITE A BIT OF OUR TIME WITH MY PREPARED STATEMENT. |
| 00:09:30 | I YIELD BACK TO MY FRIEND FROM MARYLAND AS TO ANY OTHER THOUGHTS THAT HE MIGHT HAVE. |
| 00:09:41 | I WANT TO COMMEND HIS LEADERSHIP WITH REGARD TO THE LEGISLATION. |
| 00:09:44 | DO I UNDERSTAND NOW, SENATOR, THAT WE HAVE SOME 30 COSPONSORS? |
| 00:09:52 | MR. CARDIN: THAT IS CORRECT. |
| 00:09:54 | AGAIN, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND I THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS. |
| 00:09:56 | WE HAVE 30 COSPONSORS OF THE MAGNITSKY LEGISLATION THAT I'M GOING TO BE ENCOURAGING MORE OF OUR COLLEAGUES TO JOIN US IN COSPONSORSHIP. |
| 00:10:05 | I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT |
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