Jamal Khashoggi Press Freedom Accountability Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 226 To protect journalists and other members of the press from gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 4, 2021 Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To protect journalists and other members of the press from gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jamal Khashoggi 4 Press Freedom Accountability Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) A free and independent press is necessary 8 for citizens to make informed choices on issues of 9 public concern, to have the information necessary to 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S226.IS S226 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 226 IS recognize truth from falsehood, and to hold the pow- 1 erful and government officials to account. 2 (2) As reflected in the First Amendment to the 3 United States Constitution, a free press is essential 4 to safeguard democracy. 5 (3) The suppression of the press is historically 6 associated with authoritarian rule. 7 (4) As provided in Article 19 of the United Na- 8 tions Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 9 the International Covenant on Civil and Political 10 Rights, all people enjoy the right to freedom of opin- 11 ion and expression, which includes the right to seek, 12 receive, and impart information. 13 (5) An informed public is fundamental to a free 14 society. 15 (6) In accordance with a long United States 16 history of championing freedom of the press around 17 the globe, the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press 18 Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–166; 124 Stat. 1186) 19 was enacted into law. 20 (7) Since the passage of the Daniel Pearl Free- 21 dom of the Press Act of 2009, the global environ- 22 ment for a free and independent press has become 23 more repressive. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S226.IS S226 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 226 IS (8) According to 2020 data from the Committee 1 to Protect Journalists, for the fifth consecutive year, 2 at least 250 journalists were imprisoned globally in 3 2020, and there was complete impunity in an esti- 4 mated 86 percent of cases of murdered journalists in 5 the last decade. 6 (9) According to 2019 data from Freedom 7 House, in 7 of the preceding 10 years, more coun- 8 tries saw declines in press freedom scores than im- 9 provements. In the preceding 5 years, nearly 50 per- 10 cent more countries saw a net decline in press free- 11 dom. 12 (10) According to 2019 data from Reporters 13 Without Borders, 63 percent of the journalists killed 14 in 2019 were deliberately targeted and 59 percent 15 were killed outside war zones. 16 (11) In 2018, the brutal murder of Jamal 17 Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi intelligence officers 18 acting on explicit orders of the Government of Saudi 19 Arabia underscored the extent to which those in 20 power will go to stifle the freedom of expression, si- 21 lence their critics, and eliminate the threat they be- 22 lieve independent journalists pose to their rule. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S226.IS S226 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 226 IS SEC. 3. EXPANDING SCOPE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS 1 WITH RESPECT TO VIOLATIONS OF INTER- 2 NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS 3 AGAINST JOURNALISTS. 4 The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 5 et seq.) is amended— 6 (1) in section 116(d)(12) (22 U.S.C. 7 2151n(d)(12))— 8 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘di- 9 rect physical attacks’’ and all that follows 10 through ‘‘pressure,’’ and inserting the following: 11 ‘‘gross violations of internationally recognized 12 human rights (as defined in section 502B), di- 13 rect physical attacks, online harassment, im- 14 prisonment, indirect sources of pressure, sur- 15 veillance,’’; and 16 (B) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking 17 ‘‘ensure the prosecution’’ and all that follows 18 through the end period and inserting ‘‘ensure 19 the investigation, prosecution, and proper pun- 20 ishment of government officials or private indi- 21 viduals who engage in or facilitate murder, un- 22 lawful imprisonment, bodily harm, digital or 23 physical attacks, including hacking, censorship, 24 surveillance, or harassment against journalists 25 and others who perform, or provide administra- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S226.IS S226 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 226 IS tive support to, the dissemination of print, 1 broadcast, internet-based, or social media in- 2 tended to communicate facts or opinion.’’; and 3 (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)— 4 (A) in the first subsection (i), in paragraph 5 (2), by striking ‘‘direct physical attacks’’ and 6 all that follows through ‘‘pressure,’’ and insert- 7 ing the following: ‘‘gross violations of inter- 8 nationally recognized human rights, direct phys- 9 ical attacks, online harassment, imprisonment, 10 indirect sources of pressure, surveillance,’’; and 11 (B) by redesignating the second subsection 12 (i) as subsection (j). 13 SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PER- 14 SONS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COMMISSION 15 OF GROSS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATION- 16 ALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS AGAINST 17 JOURNALISTS. 18 (a) IDENTIFICATION.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall identify 20 foreign persons that the President determines, based 21 on credible information, have perpetrated, ordered, 22 or otherwise directly or indirectly participated in the 23 extrajudicial killing of or other gross violation of 24 internationally recognized human rights committed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S226.IS S226 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 226 IS against a journalist or other person who performs, 1 or provides administrative support to, the dissemina- 2 tion of print, broadcast, internet-based, or social 3 media intended to report newsworthy activities or in- 4 formation or communicate facts or fact-based opin- 5 ions. 6 (2) PUBLICATION OF LIST.—The Secretary of 7 State shall— 8 (A) publish on a publicly available website 9 of the Department of State a list of each for- 10 eign person identified under paragraph (1); and 11 (B) update that list not less frequently 12 than annually. 13 (b) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—The President shall 14 impose the sanctions described in subsection (c) with re- 15 spect to each foreign person included in the list published 16 under subsection (a)(2) on and after the date on which 17 the person is first included in that list. 18 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de- 19 scribed in this subsection are the following: 20 (1) ASSET BLOCKING.—The President shall ex- 21 ercise all of the powers granted to the President 22 under the International Emergency Economic Pow- 23 ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent nec- 24 essary to block and prohibit all transactions in prop- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S226.IS S226 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 226 IS erty and interests in property of a foreign person in- 1 cluded in the list published under subsection (a)(2) 2 if such property and interests in property are in the 3 United States, come within the United States, or are 4 or come within the possession or control of a United 5 States person. 6 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR 7 PAROLE.— 8 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—An 9 alien described in subsection (a)(1) is— 10 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 11 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 12 documentation to enter the United States; 13 and 14 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 15 or paroled into the United States or to re- 16 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra- 17 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 18 seq.). 19 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 20 (i) IN GENERAL.—An alien described 21 in subsection (a)(1) is subject to revocation 22 of any visa or other entry documentation 23 regardless of when the visa or other entry 24 documentation is or was issued. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S226.IS S226 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 226 IS (ii) IMMEDIATE EFFECT.—A revoca- 1 tion under clause (i) shall take effect im- 2 mediately and automatically cancel any 3 other valid visa or entry documentation 4 that is in the alien’s possession. 5 (d) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 6 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex- 7 ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 8 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 9 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out 10 this section. 11 (2) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in 12 subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter- 13 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 14 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person that violates, 15 attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 16 violation of this section to the same extent that such 17 penalties apply to a person that commits an unlaw- 18 ful act described in subsection (a) of such section 19 206. 20 (e) WAIVER AND TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 22 the requirement to include a foreign person on the 23 list published under subsection (a)(2) and to impose 24 sanctions with respect to that person, or may remove 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S226.IS S226 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 226 IS a foreign person from the list and terminate any 1 sanctions imposed with respect to that person, if the 2 President submits to the Committee on Foreign Af- 3 fairs of the House of Representatives and the Com- 4 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a certifi- 5 cation that— 6 (A) the waiver or removal is in the na- 7 tional interest of the United States; or 8 (B) appropriate foreign government offi- 9 cials have— 10 (i) credibly and thoroughly inves- 11 tigated the foreign person and, as appro- 12 priate, brought the person to justice for 13 perpetrating, ordering, or otherwise di- 14 rectly or indirectly participating in acts de- 15 scribed in subsection (a)(1); 16 (ii) publicly condemned such acts and 17 violations of freedom of the press; and 18 (iii) complied with any requests from 19 the United States Government for informa- 20 tion with respect to such acts. 21 (2) FORM OF CERTIFICATION.—Each certifi- 22 cation submitted under paragraph (1)— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S226.IS S226 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 226 IS (A) shall be submitted in unclassified form 1 and include an unclassified description of the 2 factual basis supporting the certification; and 3 (B) may include a classified annex. 4 (f) EXCEPTIONS.— 5 (1) EXCEPTION FOR INTELLIGENCE ACTIVI- 6 TIES.—The sanctions described in subsection (c) 7 shall not apply to any activity subject to the report- 8 ing requirements under title V of the National Secu- 9 rity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any au- 10 thorized intelligence activities of the United States. 11 (2) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER- 12 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.—The sanctions described 13 in subsection (c)(2) shall not apply with respect to 14 an alien if admitting or paroling the alien into the 15 United States is necessary to permit the United 16 States to comply with the Agreement regarding the 17 Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 18 Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force No- 19 vember 21, 1947, between the United Nations and 20 the United States, or other applicable international 21 obligations. 22 (3) EXCEPTION RELATING TO THE IMPORTA- 23 TION OF GOODS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S226.IS S226 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 226 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and re- 1 quirements to impose sanctions under this sec- 2 tion shall not include any authority or require- 3 ment to impose sanctions on the importation of 4 goods. 5 (B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this subsection, 6 the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or 7 manmade substance, material, supply, or manu- 8 factured product, including inspection and test 9 equipment and excluding technical data. 10 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 12 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 13 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 14 (8 U.S.C. 1101). 15 (2) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 16 son’’ means an individual who is not a United States 17 citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent 18 residence to the United States. 19 (3) GROSS VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONALLY 20 RECOGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS.—The term ‘‘gross vio- 21 lation of internationally recognized human rights’’ 22 has the meaning given that term in section 502B of 23 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 24 2304). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S226.IS S226 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 226 IS (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 1 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 2 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law- 3 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 4 United States; 5 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 6 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 7 the United States, including a foreign branch of 8 such entity; or 9 (C) any person in the United States. 10 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE. 11 (a) PROHIBITION.—Assistance authorized under the 12 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) 13 or the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) 14 may not be made available to any governmental entity of 15 a country if the Secretary of State or the Director of Na- 16 tional Intelligence has credible information that one or 17 more senior officials acting under the authority of such 18 entity has committed, ordered, or otherwise directly or in- 19 directly participated in a gross violation of internationally 20 re [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]