QUESTION PERIOD — Foreign Affairs
Human Rights in Russia
May 11, 2023
I have a question for Senator Gold, please. Senator Gold, less than a month ago, on April 17, Vladimir Kara-Murza, one of the Kremlin’s most prominent critics, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after the court found him guilty of treason, spreading false information about the Russian army and being affiliated with an undesirable organization. What was his actual crime? Defying Putin.
Mr. Kara-Murza’s wife has noted that her husband’s sentence far exceeds the Russian criminal code’s penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment for the most severe crimes. The trial — behind closed doors, despite no state secrets being implicated — has been likened to Stalin’s sham trials of the 1930s to eliminate dissidents.
Mr. Kara-Murza is no stranger to this chamber, having played an instrumental role in our Parliament’s unanimous adoption of the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act in 2017, also known as the Sergei Magnitsky Law. In 2016, he testified before our Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade on increasing erosion of fundamental elements of a functioning democracy, including free media, free and fair elections, an independent judiciary and an active civil society, as well as repressive persecution of pro-democracy defenders, including himself.
Now Vladimir Kara-Murza is locked away, and he will not be the last to be silenced and abused by Russia.
Senator Gold, what is the Canadian government doing to call out human rights violations by the Russian state against its own citizens?
Thank you for your question. The Government of Canada deplores the guilty verdict handed down to Vladimir Kara-Murza for simply the “crime” of making legitimate political comments aimed at a better and safer future for Russia and for the Russian people. It is another example of Russia’s gross violations of international rights and lack of respect for basic principles of due process. It is clear that Russia continues to completely disregard respect for democratic principles and for universal human rights, including freedom of speech, in relation to its own people and others around the world.
Canada has always stood for the protection and promotion of human rights around the world. We’ve done so for decades now and will continue to do so. The Senate can be reassured that this government is seized with this issue and is doing what is necessary to call out the government of Russia for these violations of human rights.
