Congressmen Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Steve Cohen (D-TN) announced they will introduce a House resolution supporting the recognition of October 30 as the International Day of Political Prisoners. The resolution aims to highlight the global issue of political imprisonment.
The resolution states:
“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 those imprisoned for their political or religious beliefs and to express solidarity with them; and
“Whereas in subsequent years,the Dayof Political Prisoners on October 30 was marked by hunger strikes by prisoners insidethe Soviet Gulagand by public demonstrationsof solidarityin citiesacrossthe USSR: Now therefore be it
“Resolved That The House Of Representatives—
deplores all formsofpolitical repressionand imprisonmentand conveys its unwavering solidaritywith all those imprisonedaroundthe worldfor peacefully expressingtheirpoliticalorreligious beliefs;
supports effortsbytheUnitedStatesGovernmentto condemnpoliticalimprisonment hold accountablethose regimesresponsiblefor persecutingand imprisoningdissenters raiseinternationalawarenessofpoliticalprisonersand securetheirreleasethroughbilateralandmultilateralnegotiationswithotherstates,and urgesittocontinuesucheffortsinthefuture;andsupportsthedesignationofan‘InternationalDayofPoliticalPrisoners’intheUnitedStates.”
Joe Wilson is currently serving as a U.S. Congressman representing South Carolina’s 2nd district since replacing Floyd Spence in 2001. He previously served in South Carolina’s Senate from 1985 until his election to Congress. Born in Charleston in 1947 and now residing in Springdale at age 75,W ilson graduated from Washington and Lee University with a BA before earning his JD from UniversityofSouthCarolina.
