Iran Human Rights and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 194 To impose additional sanctions with respect to serious human rights abuses of the Government of Iran, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2019 Mr. MCCAUL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Ju- diciary, Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be sub- sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To impose additional sanctions with respect to serious human rights abuses of the Government of Iran, 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 ‘‘Iran Human Rights 4 and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. UNITED STATES POLICY ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLA- 6 TIONS BY THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H194.IH H194 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 194 IH (1) Iran is a member of the United Nations, 1 voted for the Universal Declaration of Human 2 Rights, and is a signatory to the International Cov- 3 enant on Civil and Political Rights, among other 4 international human rights treaties. 5 (2) In violation of these and other international 6 obligations, Iranian regime officials continue to vio- 7 late the fundamental human rights of the Iranian 8 people. 9 (3) The Iranian regime persecutes ethnic and 10 religious minority groups, such as the Baha’is, 11 Christians, Sufi, Sunni, and dissenting Shi’a Mus- 12 lims (such as imprisoned Ayatollah Hossein 13 Kazemeyni Boroujerdi), through harassment, ar- 14 rests, and imprisonment, during which detainees 15 have routinely been beaten, tortured, and killed. 16 (4) Following voting irregularities that resulted 17 in the 2009 election of President Mahmoud 18 Ahmadinejad, the Iranian regime brutally sup- 19 pressed peaceful political dissent from wide segments 20 of civil society during the Green Revolution in a cyn- 21 ical attempt to retain its undemocratic grip on 22 power. 23 (5) Since February 2011, the leaders of Iran’s 24 Green Movement, former Prime Minister Mir 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H194.IH H194 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 194 IH Hossein Mousavi and his wife Dr. Zahra Rahnavard, 1 have been incarcerated, and former Speaker of the 2 Majles (parliament) Mehdi Karroubi has lived under 3 strict house arrest, ordered by Iran’s Supreme Na- 4 tional Security. 5 (6) In 1999 the Iranian regime brutally sup- 6 pressed a student revolt that was one of the largest 7 mass uprisings up until that point in the country 8 since 1979. 9 (7) Over a 4-month period in 1988, the Iranian 10 regime carried out the barbaric mass executions of 11 thousands of political prisoners by hanging and fir- 12 ing squad for refusing to renounce their political af- 13 filiations and in some cases for possessing political 14 reading material, including prisoners of conscience, 15 teenagers, and pregnant women. In an audiotape, 16 the late Hussein Ali Montazeri, a grand ayatollah 17 who served as former Supreme leader Khomeini’s 18 chief deputy, said that the 1988 mass killings were 19 ‘‘the greatest crime committed during the Islamic 20 Republic, for which history will condemn us’’. 21 (8) Senior governmental, military, and public 22 security officials in Iran have continued ordering, 23 controlling, and committing egregious human rights 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H194.IH H194 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 194 IH violations that, in many cases, represent official poli- 1 cies of the Iranian regime. 2 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 3 Congress that the United States should— 4 (1) deny the Government of Iran the ability to 5 continue to oppress the people of Iran and to use vi- 6 olence and executions to silence pro-democracy 7 protestors; 8 (2) work with international partners to inves- 9 tigate human rights violations by senior officials of 10 the Government of Iran, regardless of where or when 11 such violations took place; 12 (3) support efforts made by the people of Iran 13 to promote the establishment of basic freedoms that 14 build the foundation for the emergence of a freely 15 elected, open, non-corrupt and democratic political 16 system; 17 (4) condemn Iranian human rights abuses 18 against dissidents, including the massacre in 1988 19 and the suppression of political demonstrations in 20 1999, 2009, and 2017, and pressure the Govern- 21 ment of Iran to provide family members detailed in- 22 formation that they were denied about the final rest- 23 ing places of any missing victims of such abuses; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H194.IH H194 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 194 IH (5) help the people of Iran produce, access, and 1 share information freely and safely via the internet 2 and other media. 3 (c) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It shall be the policy 4 of the United States to stand with the people of Iran who 5 seek the opportunity to freely elect a government of their 6 choosing, and increase the utilization of all available au- 7 thorities to impose sanctions on officials of the Govern- 8 ment of Iran and other individuals responsible for serious 9 human rights abuses. 10 SEC. 3. DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO IMPOSITION 11 OF SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN PERSONS RE- 12 SPONSIBLE FOR OR COMPLICIT IN HUMAN 13 RIGHTS ABUSES, ENGAGING IN CENSORSHIP, 14 ENGAGING IN THE DIVERSION OF GOODS IN- 15 TENDED FOR THE PEOPLE OF IRAN, OR EN- 16 GAGING IN CORRUPTION. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the 18 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall sub- 19 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 20 containing a determination of whether any senior officials 21 of the Government of Iran or other Iranian persons meet 22 the criteria described in— 23 (1) subsection (b) of section 105D of the Com- 24 prehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Di- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H194.IH H194 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 194 IH vestment Act of 2010, as added by section 5 of this 1 Act; or 2 (2) paragraph (3) or (4) of section 1263(a) of 3 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 4 Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 5 note). 6 (b) REVIEW OF CERTAIN ENTITIES.—The report re- 7 quired under subsection (a) shall contain a review of any 8 activities of cooperative foundations or bonyads in Iran 9 with a capitalization that exceeds $200,000,000 and that 10 meet the criteria in paragraph (3) or (4) of section 11 1263(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for 12 Fiscal Year 2017 (Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 13 note) for purposes of corruption. 14 (c) FORM OF REPORT; PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 15 (1) FORM.—The report required under sub- 16 section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 17 but may contain a classified annex. 18 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The unclassified 19 portion of such report shall be made available to the 20 public and posted on the internet website of the De- 21 partment of the Treasury— 22 (A) in English, Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H194.IH H194 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 194 IH (B) in precompressed, easily downloadable 1 versions that are made available in all appro- 2 priate formats. 3 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro- 4 priate congressional committees’’ means— 5 (1) the Committee on Financial Services and 6 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 7 Representatives; and 8 (2) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 9 Urban Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Rela- 10 tions of the Senate. 11 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES POLICY ON HOSTAGE-TAKING BY 12 THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN. 13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 14 (1) Since 1979 the Iranian regime has engaged 15 in various destabilizing activities that undermine the 16 national security of the United States and its allies 17 and partners. 18 (2) These activities include the hostage-taking 19 or prolonged arbitrary detentions of United States 20 citizens and other persons with connections to Can- 21 ada, the United Kingdom, France, and other nations 22 allied with the United States. 23 (3) The Iranian regime has detained on fab- 24 ricated claims a significant number of United States 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H194.IH H194 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 194 IH citizens, including Siamak and Baquer Namazi and 1 Xiyue Wang, as well as United States legal perma- 2 nent resident, Nizar Zakka, in violation of inter- 3 national legal norms. 4 (4) The Iranian regime has not provided infor- 5 mation on the whereabouts of or assistance in ensur- 6 ing the prompt and safe return of Robert Levinson, 7 despite repeated promises to do so, after he was kid- 8 napped while visiting Iran’s Kish Island on March 9, 9 2007—making him the longest held hostage in 10 United States history. 11 (5) The Iranian regime reportedly uses hostages 12 as leverage against foreign investors to exact busi- 13 ness concessions in foreign investment deals. 14 (6) The type of hostage-taking enterprise put in 15 place by the Iranian regime is a crime against hu- 16 manity and a violation of customary international 17 law. 18 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 19 Congress that— 20 (1) the Administration should fully utilize all 21 necessary and appropriate measures to prevent the 22 Iranian regime from engaging in hostage-taking or 23 the prolonged arbitrary detention of United States 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H194.IH H194 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 194 IH citizens or legal permanent resident aliens, to in- 1 clude— 2 (A) the use of extradition to try and con- 3 vict those individuals responsible for ordering or 4 controlling the hostage-taking or arbitrary de- 5 tention of United States citizens; and 6 (B) the use of the Department of Home- 7 land Security’s Human Rights Violators and 8 War Crimes Center to target such individuals; 9 and 10 (2) the United States should encourage its al- 11 lies and other affected countries to pursue the crimi- 12 nal prosecution and extradition of state and non- 13 state actors in Iran that assist in or benefit from 14 such hostage-taking to prevent such state and non- 15 state actors from engaging in this practice in the fu- 16 ture. 17 (c) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 18 United States Government not to pay ransom for the pur- 19 pose of securing the release of United States citizens or 20 legal permanent resident aliens taken hostage abroad. 21 (d) STRATEGY.—Not later than 120 days after the 22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 23 shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 24 House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H194.IH H194 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 194 IH Relations of the Senate a report that contains a strategy 1 to prevent elements of the Iranian regime from engaging 2 in hostage-taking or the prolonged arbitrary detention of 3 United States citizens or legal permanent resident aliens. 4 SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO IRA- 5 NIAN PERSONS WHO ENGAGE IN CERTAIN AC- 6 TIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES CITIZENS OR 7 IRANIAN PERSONS. 8 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 9 gress that the United States should coordinate with 10 United States allies and other allies and partners whose 11 citizens may be subject to politically-motivated detention 12 or trial in Iran, to apply sanctions against Iranian persons 13 that are responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for 14 ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, such deten- 15 tion or trial. 16 (b) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Comprehensive Iran 17 Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 is 18 amended by inserting after section 105C (22 U.S.C. 19 8514c) the following: 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H194.IH H194 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 194 IH ‘‘SEC. 105D. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 1 IRANIAN PERSONS WHO ENGAGE IN CERTAIN 2 ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES CITIZENS 3 OR IRANIAN PERSONS. 4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose sanc- 5 tions described in section 105(c) with respect to each per- 6 son on the list required by subsection (b). 7 ‘‘(b) LIST OF IRANIAN PERSONS WHO ENGAGE IN 8 CERTAIN ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES CITIZENS 9 OR IRANIAN PERSONS.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 11 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 12 President shall submit to the appropriate congres- 13 sional committees a list of Iranian persons that the 14 President determines, are knowingly— 15 ‘‘(A) responsible for or complicit in, or re- 16 sponsible for ordering or otherwise directing, 17 the politically-motivated harassment, abuse, ex- 18 tortion, or extended detention or trial of citizens 19 of the United States or United States legal per- 20 manent resident aliens, regardless of whether 21 such actions occurred in Iran; or 22 ‘‘(B) responsible for or complicit in, or re- 23 sponsible for ordering or otherwise directing, 24 the politically-motivated harassment, abuse, ex- 25 tortion, or extended detention or trial of Ira- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 Jan 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H194.IH H194 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 194 IH nians, Iranian residents, or persons of Iranian 1 origin outside of Iran. 2 ‘‘(2) UPDATES OF LIST.—The President shall 3 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 4 an updated list under paragraph (1)— 5 ‘‘(A) each time the President is required to 6 submit an updated list to those committees 7 under section 105(b)(2)(A); and 8 ‘‘(B) as new information becomes avail- 9 able. 10 ‘‘(3) FORM OF REPORT; PUBLIC AV [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]