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“ALEXEI NAVALNY” mentioning Michael F. Bennet was published in the Senate section on pages S1840-S1841 on March 25.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
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The publication is reproduced in full below:
ALEXEI NAVALNY
Mr. WICKER. Madam President, I rise this afternoon to call attention to a courageous Russian hero who is in danger even as I speak. He is a man who has consistently stood up to Vladimir Putin and his cronies and has, on numerous occasions, placed his own life in jeopardy to bring the truth to light. The lawless thugs in the Kremlin often avoid saying his name in public, but here on the Senate floor, I am proud to stand in solidarity with Alexei Navalny.
It was just last August that Alexei Navalny, Russia's foremost opposition leader, was poisoned with a deadly nerve agent. Millions of us remember seeing the video of his being stricken on an airplane and hearing his painful cries, the crew members unsure how to soothe his pain. Thanks to the quick diplomatic work of our friends in Germany, Mr. Navalny was evacuated to Berlin, where he received expert medical attention and, against all odds, recovered from this poisoning.
An ordinary man would have stayed safe and very far away from the Kremlin, but Alexei Navalny is no ordinary man. He is a Russian patriot who envisions a different kind of Russia, one where citizens have a say in government, where freedom blooms, and where the President does not siphon away funds intended for hospitals in order to build secret palaces or to enrich members of his kleptocracy.
So, 3 months ago, Mr. Navalny returned to Russia, knowing full well the dangers he would face. Immediately upon his arrival, he was arrested at the airport for a parole violation, which resulted from his hospitalization, which resulted from his poisoning. He now sits in one of the most notorious penal colonies in Russia, known for its psychological torture. He has been deemed a flight risk and is awakened eight times a night under the guise of monitoring his whereabouts. His lawyers were recently prevented from seeing him. Reports are that he is suffering from severe back pain and other health concerns and has received inadequate medical care.
This is a familiar sounding story, but one thing is clear: The Russian dictatorship is terrified of Alexei Navalny. He is a threat to them because he has exposed their unbridled corruption and urged voters to demand that the government respect their rights. Because of that, Alexei Navalny's life is in danger at this very moment.
The tens of thousands of demonstrators who turned out across Russia to support this jailed opposition leader send an unmistakable message to the Kremlin: You cannot suppress the voice of the people indefinitely.
Freedom-loving Americans and freedom-loving people around the world are, today, crying out for justice for Alexei Navalny. He endures the suffering of many before him--in Russia, people like Sergei Magnitsky and Boris Nemtsov and, abroad, people like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi--whose legacies and movements did not rot while they were in prison but, instead, helped to bring down oppressive governments.
At this point, I yield to the Senator from Colorado for a brief intervention before I close with a thought or two.
Mr. BENNET. Madam President, I rise on behalf of Senator Cardin, who is a Democrat from the State of Maryland and an original cosponsor of this bill with Senator Wicker, to say what he would have said if he had been here today, which is that Alexei Navalny is a Russian patriot, that he is a prisoner of conscience, and that we need to stand up to Russia's human rights violations.
Thank you.
Mr. WICKER. In reclaiming my time, I appreciate the work of my friend Senator Cardin.
Senator Coons from Delaware was also here, but, unfortunately, he had to leave.
They also wanted to make it clear that, on a bipartisan basis, on both sides of the aisle, the U.S. Senate stands for freedom-loving people in Russia and for their spokesman, Alexei Navalny. We intend to shine the light of public opinion on the actions of the Russian kleptocracy and dictatorship with regard to prisoners and patriots like Alexei Navalny.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
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