Freed Russian dissident Kara-Murza was charged over 2022 speech to Arizona House
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Vladimir Kara-Murza and his wife, Yevgenia, at John McCain's memorial service in 2018. Photo: Andrew Harnik/AFP via Getty Images
Among the Russian prisoners who were freed in a multi-country swap is a dissident who was charged with treason after condemning the invasion of Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin's authoritarianism during a 2022 speech to the Arizona House.
The big picture: Russia released dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza along with Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan on Thursday in an exchange involving the U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus.
Zoom in: In March 2022, Kara-Murza spoke to the Arizona House, criticizing the "war of aggression that Vladimir Putin's regime has unleashed against the nation of Ukraine" and Putin's crackdown on critics.
- "These are very dark times in Russia today," he said, lamenting that the regime had arrested hundreds of political prisoners, crushed major opposition groups and liquidated independent media outlets.
- Kara-Murza was also a friend of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain who served as a pallbearer at his funeral. In his speech, he praised McCain for recognizing Putin's true nature early on, and noted they worked together to pass the Magnitsky Act, a federal law to sanction Russians involved in human rights abuses.
Catch up quick: A Russian court in 2022 charged Kara-Murza with spreading "deliberately false information" about the country's invasion of Ukraine, and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison the following year.
- He was also charged with treason in part for his speech to the Arizona House.
- At the time of Kara-Murza's arrest, then-Speaker Rusty Bowers, who'd invited him, denounced the charges as "political prosecution."
- "We in the west must pay attention to and shine a bright light on President Putin's abhorrent and shocking authoritarian regime," Bowers said in a press statement. "Don't forget about these freedom fighters, like Vladimir Kara-Murza. We must remember names!"
What they're saying: "I'm glad that he's been released. And I hope that he and his wife can keep doing good for their country. It's a mess," said Bowers, who keeps a picture of Kara-Murza in court in his phone.
- Bowers told Axios he thought Kara-Murza would spend the next 20 years behind bars, and worried "something was going to happen to him, like Navalny," referring to jailed Russian opposition leader whose death has been blamed on the regime.
- The McCain Institute, which advocated for Kara-Murza's release for the past two years, praised him as someone with "the unwavering spirit of democracy."
- "Despite facing multiple assassination attempts orchestrated by the Kremlin, his steadfast commitment to promoting human rights in Russia continues to inspire hope for a just future," the institute said.