Thank you, Mr. Chair.
May I say how delighted I am to be able to join Evgenia, Vladimir's partner in their joint heroic odyssey on behalf of the Russian people, on behalf of the Ukrainian people, on behalf of the struggle for democracy and human rights and indeed on behalf of our common humanity.
Vladimir is the ultimate Russian patriot and dissident in the best tradition of the father of the Russian dissident movement, Andrei Sakharov. What Sakharov once said of Sharansky, when he said the trial in the then Soviet Union of Anatoly Sharansky was the trial of human rights, can now be said of Vladimir Kara-Murza: The persecution and prosecution of Vladimir Kara-Murza are really the persecution and prosecution of the best of what Russia is all about.
Vladimir, like his hero Boris Nemtsov, the democratic leader of the Russian opposition, who was tragically assassinated in February 2015, has himself been the target of two assassination attempts.
Vladimir, like Václav Havel, who spoke truth to power, has now been awarded, as Evgenia said, and rightly so, the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize but has been prosecuted by Putin for seeking and speaking the truth.
Vladimir, an award-winning journalist, has had his expression not only silenced but criminalized. Vladimir is an incredible filmmaker. Just yesterday evening we saw one of his films on a Russian heroic cleric, Father Edelstein. The title of the film was My Duty to Not Stay Silent, to not be complicit with evil. Indeed, that is the duty and the responsibility of all of us. This committee is in a position to break that silence and to take the necessary action.
Vladimir, a global architect of Magnitsky sanctions, now personifies the need to impose Magnitsky sanctions on all those involved in his arbitrary arrest, detention, persecution and prosecution. Indeed, in each and all of these, there is a clear Canadian connection. Vladimir has a clear Canadian connection. He came to Canada in 2011 when I was a member of the foreign affairs subcommittee on international human rights. I tabled the first draft of what was to become the Magnitsky legislation. It was Vladimir who came here with Boris Nemtsov, along with Bill Browder, to support that legislation. When he was asked at that point whether the legislation was anti-Russian, he said that no, it was the most pro-Russian legislation you could find. This is legislation on behalf of the Russian people. I would say this is legislation on behalf of the Canadian people in protection of Canadian sovereignty, security, economy and human dignity.
Vladimir, therefore, personified these objectives and paid a price. He came to testify in 2015 before this foreign affairs committee. He was a principal witness when we were considering Magnitsky legislation. He went back to Russia. He was targeted for assassination and poisoned, and he almost died. In 2017, when the committee reconvened after an election, Vladimir again was a principal witness before this committee, which led to the adoption of such legislation. He went back to Russia and was again targeted for assassination and poisoned and almost died. He emerged and is a hero of the struggle for democracy and human rights in Russia and beyond. The global Magnitsky sanctions are but one expression of that initiative of his, which is protective, as I say, of the Russian people and protective of democracy.
It was Vladimir, as Evgenia has mentioned as well, who warned against indifference and inaction in the face of Putin's culture of corruption and criminality.
It was Vladimir who warned us that when Putin bombarded and assaulted Chechnya, when he invaded Georgia, when he annexed the Crimea, when he bombarded Syria and when he was engaged in massive domestic repression, it was the silence, the indifference and the inaction of the international community that not only indulged this culture of corruption and criminality but also incentivized this culture of impunity.
Evgenia has been bringing this message just as Vladimir was bringing you that message all these years. The importance, therefore, to stand up now in your hearings with regard to Ukraine....
Putin probably said this: If the international community did nothing with Chechnya, with Georgia, with the Crimea, with Syria and with my massive repression—he wouldn't say that—why should they care if I go into Ukraine, which is not an independent country anyway, which is not an independent people, which is part of us, etc.?
It's a whole culture of misinformation, and our indifference and inaction incentivize impunity. It is our responsibility to act.
I will close by saying this. While it is essential that we provide—and have been providing, and need to provide even more—military support, economic support, humanitarian assistance and sanctions to the Ukrainian people, it is particularly important as well, in terms of Vladimir's case as a looking glass into all that I've mentioned, that we impose targeted Magnitsky sanctions on all of those engaged, as I said, in his arbitrary arrest, detention, persecution and prosecution; that we, as Evgenia said, support Russian civil society; that we support the 19,000 who have been arbitrarily arrested and detained, for whom Vladimir stands as a looking glass; and that we take his case and cause as a need for us to take the necessary initiatives.
I'll be happy to elaborate on any questions with regard to protecting against arbitrary detention, protecting media freedom, protecting and promoting democracy and human rights, and imposing necessary sanctions and the like.
Thank you for your attention. I'll be delighted to respond to any questions, but mostly to hear Evgenia and her testimony.