Resolution Calling on Vladimir Putin to Release Alexei Navalny from Prison where He Is Being Tortured and to Cease Efforts to Murder Him

Recalling that Alexei Navalny is a citizen of Russia and entitled to all the rights guaranteed to him under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Russian Constitution;

Noting that Alexei Navalny is a politician and that he has attracted a substantial following in Russia and admirers around the world; 

Remembering that Alexei Navalny suffered an attack using the illegal and restricted chemical nerve agent, Novichok;

Noting that Alexei Navalny has also been assaulted using chemical irritants;

Also noting that Alexei Navalny has been subjected to trumped-up legal proceedings that violated due process and his human rights, and agreeing with the European Court of Human Rights the conviction for fraud and money laundering "was based on an unforeseeable application of criminal law and that the proceedings were arbitrary and unfair"; 

Convinced that these physical and legal attacks have been motivated by political purposes and the desire, not only to retain autocratic power but also to accumulate wealth and to completely crush all opposition to this autocratic power;

Believing that Alexei Navalny is a Russian patriot and can appropriately be called the “Nelson Mandela of Russia”;

Saddened and angered that his supporters have been similarly attacked by the Russian legal system to prevent them from expressing their political views and convinced that those actions are also motivated by the lust for power of Russian autocrat.

The Four Freedoms Democratic Club hereby:

1.  Expresses its anger, disgust, and profound sadness at the actions taken by Vladimir Putin and other Russian autocrats and their cabal toward Alexei Navalny, his family, and his political supporters.

1. Authorizes the Club to send the following letter to Vladimir Putin with copies to Joseph Bidden, President of the United States; Alexei Anatolievich Navalny and his wife, Yulia Borisovna Navalnaya; and António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations.

1. Asks the Club to disseminate this letter and the reasons behind it to the press and to share this resolution with all the Democratic Clubs in Manhattan and the County Committee.

Dear Dictator/President Putin,

We are writing as citizens of the world demanding that you recognize the Human Rights of Alexei Navalny.  

We demand that you release him from prison where he is being tortured and deprived of appropriate medical care.   We demand that you and your allies cease efforts to intimidate or kill him with toxic chemicals including chemical irritants and Novichok.  

Mr. Navalny should have the right to speak freely and engage in political action including running for office.  

We demand that you stop persecuting him and Russian citizens who support him and allow them to assemble and express their opinions as guaranteed in the 29th Article of the Russian Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  

Sincerely

The Four Freedoms Democratic Club

Cc:

President Joseph Bidden, 

Alexei Anatolievich Navalny

Yulia Borisovna Navalnaya

Yulia Borisovna