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Human Rights in Russia on the 5th Anniversary of the Nemtsov Assassination

Date:
Location:
2200 Rayburn House Office Building

Hearing Notice

Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing on the state of human rights in Russia five years after the assassination of Boris Nemtsov.

Nemtsov, a high-profile opposition leader, democracy advocate and fierce critic of corruption and abuse of power under Vladimir Putin, was shot to death on February 27, 2015, on a bridge near the Kremlin. His murder sent shock waves around the world and has become a rallying point for annual protest marches that attract thousands of people.

In the five years since the assassination, political power continues to be concentrated in the hands of President Putin, who won a fourth term in March 2018 in an election that excluded viable opposition candidates. According to the State Department’s most recent Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, human rights issues in Russia include extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, pervasive torture, arbitrary or unjust arrest and detention, political prisoners, suppression of freedom of expression and media, violence against journalists,  restrictions on religious freedom, and widespread corruption at all levels of government. These practices occur throughout Russia and in territories it has occupied, including parts of Ukraine, and take place in a climate of impunity. Of the five states that are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Russia is one of two that Freedom House has categorized as “not free.” The Russian economy is highly unequal. A 2018 Russian study found that a fifth of the population lived in poverty and another 36% had little or no disposable income.

Witnesses will provide a broad overview of the state of human rights in Russia today and offer recommendations to Congress for ways to advance protection of rights throughout the country.

This hearing will be open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the interested public, and the media. The hearing will be livestreamed via the Commission website and will also be available for viewing on Channel 59 of the House Digital Channel service. For any questions, please contact Kimberly Stanton at 202-225-3599 (for Co-Chair McGovern) or Piero Tozzi at 202-225-3765 (for Co-Chair Smith). 

Hosted by:

James P. McGovern
Member of Congress
Co-Chair, TLHRC
Christopher H. Smith
Member of Congress
Co-Chair, TLHRC
Witnesses

Opening Remarks

Witnesses

Panel I 

  • Melissa Hooper, Director, Foreign Policy Advocacy, Human Rights First
    Written testimony
  • Elizabeth K. Cassidy, Director of Research and Policy, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF
    Written testimony
  • Daniel Balson, Advocacy Director, Europe and Central Asia, Amnesty International USA
    Written testimony
  • Kate Watters, Executive Director, Crude Accountability
    Written testimony
  • Polina Sadovskaya, Program Director, Eurasia, PEN America
    Written testimony

Bios

Submitted for the Record

Transcript

Forthcoming.

Meeting Documents

Video 

Contact The Commission

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
4150 O'Neill House Office Building
200 C Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20515
United States of America

Phone: +1 (202) 225-3599
Fax: +1 (202) 226-6584
TLHRC@mail.house.gov

Accessibility

The Commission seeks to make its events, meetings and hearings accessible to persons with disabilities.

If you are in need of special accommodations, please call (202) 225-3599 at least four business days in advance.

Questions with regard to special accommodations in general (including availability of Commission materials in alternative formats and assistive listening devices, sign language interpretation, etc.) may be directed to the Commission.

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