Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., said Monday she was worried that a pro-democracy leader in Russia may be the victim of an effort by Russia to silence him, and called on him to be examined by a doctor outside of Russia.
It was reported last week that Vladimir Kara-Murza was rushed to a hospital in Moscow after an apparent problem with his kidneys that forced his blood pressure down and made him lose consciousness. According to The Guardian, there was some initial speculation that he may have been poisoned.
Kara-Murza is a prominent member of the Open Russia movement, which had been led by Boris Nemtsov, who died just a few months ago.
“It is certainly suspicious that Boris was killed close to the Kremlin earlier this year and now his partner in human rights is mysteriously ill,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a prepared statement.
Ros-Lehtinen said her office has been in touch with Kara-Murza in the past on pro-democracy issues. She said his work on these matters should warrant an independent investigation into how he fell ill.
“Under these mysterious circumstances, I urge an independent investigation into the death of Boris and surrounding the illness of Vladimir — even if it means taking him to a medical center outside of Russia to be treated,” she said. “If any individuals or Russian government officials were involved in these incidents, the Obama administration must add their names to the Magnitsky list and sanction them immediately.”
The Magnitsky list refers to a U.S. list of known human rights violators in Russia. It was named after Sergei Magnitsky, a whistleblower who was allegedly tortured for accusing top Russian officials of stealing state funds, and who died in prison in 2009.
