H.Res. 843

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 843 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 843

Supporting the designation of October 30 as the ``International Day of 
Political Prisoners''.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 31, 2025

Mr. Cohen (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
McGovern, Ms. Goodlander, Mr. Crow, and Mr. Carson) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Supporting the designation of October 30 as the ``International Day of 
Political Prisoners''.

Whereas there are an estimated 1,000,000 political prisoners across the world, 
including cases of journalists, academics, political opposition 
activists, dissidents, antiwar campaigners, and human rights defenders 
being detained, arrested, imprisoned, convicted, and otherwise punished 
for political motives without connection to any credible offense;
Whereas authoritarian and repressive regimes around the world, including the 
Republic of Belarus, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of 
Cuba, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the 
Republic of the Union of Burma, the Russian Federation, and the 
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, have engaged in systematic 
imprisonment of independent voices;
Whereas, in 2024 and 2025, the United States Government, through bilateral and 
multilateral negotiations, secured the release of several dozen 
political prisoners from the Republic of Belarus, the Russian 
Federation, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela;
Whereas, on October 30, 1974, Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of conscience in 
the Soviet Gulag initiated the tradition of marking the annual Day of 
Political Prisoners in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to 
draw public attention to the plight of those imprisoned for their 
political or religious beliefs and to express solidarity with them; and
Whereas, in subsequent years, the Day of Political Prisoners on October 30 was 
marked by hunger strikes by prisoners inside the Soviet Gulag and by 
public demonstrations of solidarity in cities across the USSR: Now, 
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) deplores all forms of political repression and 
imprisonment and conveys its unwavering solidarity with all 
those imprisoned around the world for peacefully expressing 
their political or religious beliefs;
(2) supports efforts by the United States Government to 
condemn political imprisonment, hold accountable those regimes 
responsible for persecuting and imprisoning dissenters, raise 
international awareness of political prisoners, and secure 
their release through bilateral and multilateral negotiations 
with other states, and urges it to continue such efforts in the 
future; and
(3) supports the designation of an ``International Day of 
Political Prisoners'' in the United States.
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