US HR843

Supports designating October 30 as "International Day of Political Prisoners" in the United States, commemorating the date Ukrainian and Russian prisoners in the Soviet Gulag first marked the observance in 1974

Cites an estimated 1,000,000 political prisoners worldwide, including journalists, academics, political activists, dissidents, antiwar campaigners, and human rights defenders

Identifies Belarus, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Burma, Russia, and Venezuela as authoritarian regimes engaged in systematic imprisonment of independent voices

Deplores all forms of political repression and expresses solidarity with those imprisoned for peacefully expressing political or religious beliefs

Supports U.S. government efforts to condemn political imprisonment, hold regimes accountable, raise international awareness, and secure prisoner releases through bilateral and multilateral negotiations