ESCAPE of Saudi Nationals Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 231 To express the sense of Congress regarding the likely involvement of the Government of Saudi Arabia in assisting no fewer than two Saudi nation- als to avoid criminal prosecution in the United States, and to require the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress that describes such involvement, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 25 (legislative day, JANUARY 24), 2019 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To express the sense of Congress regarding the likely involve- ment of the Government of Saudi Arabia in assisting no fewer than two Saudi nationals to avoid criminal prosecution in the United States, and to require the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress that describes such involvement, 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 TITLES. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Examining Saudi Con- 4 sular Activities Promoting Extraction Act’’ or the ‘‘ES- 5 CAPE of Saudi Nationals Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Feb 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S231.IS S231 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 231 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) On August 19, 2016, a vehicle driven by 3 Abdhulrahman Sameer Noorah, a Saudi national, 4 struck and killed a 15-year-old Portland, Oregon, 5 native while driving between 55 and 60 miles per 6 hour, approximately twice the posted speed limit. 7 (2) Saudi Arabia’s Los Angeles consulate re- 8 portedly posted $100,000 bail to secure the release 9 of Mr. Noorah. 10 (3) On June 17, 2017, while awaiting trial for 11 indictments of manslaughter, felony hit-and-run, and 12 reckless driving, Mr. Noorah arrived in Saudi Arabia 13 from Oregon, despite having surrendered his Saudi 14 passport to Oregon law enforcement authorities. 15 (4) Officials from the Department of Homeland 16 Security and the United States Marshals Service 17 have publicly revealed that the Government of Saudi 18 Arabia likely played a role in Mr. Noorah’s repatri- 19 ation back to Saudi Arabia. 20 (5) The Saudi consulate in Los Angeles is re- 21 ported to have posted bond for at least 4 additional 22 Saudi nationals: Abdulaziz Al Duways, Waleed Ali 23 Alharthi, Suliman Ali Algwaiz, and Ali Hussain 24 Alhamoud, who— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Feb 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S231.IS S231 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 231 IS (A) were charged with serious criminal of- 1 fenses in Oregon, beginning in 2012; 2 (B) fled from the custody of law enforce- 3 ment authorities; and 4 (C) are still at large. 5 (6) The Saudi consulate in Los Angeles posted 6 a $100,000 bond for Ali Hussain Alhamoud, a Saudi 7 national, who subsequently fled Oregon for Saudi 8 Arabia in 2012 before facing trial on multiple sex- 9 crime charges, including rape in the first degree. 10 (7) Saudi national and Portland University stu- 11 dent, Suliman Ali Algwaiz, faced charges in 2016 for 12 striking a homeless man with his vehicle, but he dis- 13 appeared before completing his jail sentence. 14 (8) The Saudi consulate posted a $500,000 se- 15 curity deposit for Waleed Ali Alharthi, an Oregon 16 State University student and Saudi national, who 17 was arrested in 2015 on 10 counts of encouraging 18 child sex abuse before fleeing to Paris, France, in 19 the midst of court hearings. 20 (9) The Saudi consulate posted a $500,000 21 bond for Abdulaziz Al Duways, a Western Oregon 22 University Student and Saudi national, who was ar- 23 rested in 2014 on the charge of rape, but subse- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Feb 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S231.IS S231 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 231 IS quently disappeared before standing trial for the 1 charge. 2 (10) Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on 3 Diplomatic Relations, done at Vienna April 18, 4 1961, states— 5 (A) ‘‘it is the duty of all persons enjoying 6 [diplomatic] privileges and immunities to re- 7 spect the laws and regulations of the receiving 8 State’’; and 9 (B) such persons ‘‘also have a duty to not 10 interfere in the internal affairs of that State’’. 11 (11) The Government of Saudi Arabia’s flaunt- 12 ing of international norms and diplomatic law fol- 13 lows a pattern of disturbing behavior, including— 14 (A) the brutal murder of Washington Post 15 contributor and United States resident Jamal 16 Khashoggi in a Saudi Arabia consulate in 17 Istanbul, Turkey; 18 (B) the jailing of prominent women rights 19 activists, Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sada, 20 and the ongoing detention of countless others, 21 such as blogger Raif Badawi and human rights 22 lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair; 23 (C) failing to avoid civilian casualties in its 24 use of military force in the Yemeni civil war; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Feb 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S231.IS S231 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 231 IS (D) the shakedown of Saudi royals in the 1 Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and 2 (E) the detention of the Lebanese Prime 3 Minister, Saad al-Hariri, against his will. 4 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 5 It is the sense of Congress that— 6 (1) the Secretary of State should engage with 7 the highest levels of the Government of Saudi Arabia 8 to advocate for the immediate extradition of Mr. 9 Noorah, Mr. Alhamoud, and any other Saudi na- 10 tional or citizen charged with a criminal offense 11 committed in the United States back to the appro- 12 priate authorities in the United States; 13 (2) the apparent involvement of the Govern- 14 ment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the removal 15 of Mr. Noorah violates Oregon Statute 162.325, 16 which prohibits providing a person with money, 17 transportation, weapon, disguise, or any other means 18 of avoiding discovery or apprehension, and should be 19 condemned; 20 (3) the Attorney General, in coordination with 21 relevant Federal and State authorities, should inves- 22 tigate— 23 (A) whether any Saudi diplomat or agent 24 of the Government of Saudi Arabia— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Feb 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S231.IS S231 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 231 IS (i) furnished Mr. Noorah with a 1 fraudulent passport; or 2 (ii) assisted him in traveling to Saudi 3 Arabia on or before June 17, 2018; and 4 (B) the degree to which any party or par- 5 ties assisted in the removal of Mr. Alhamoud 6 from Oregon to Saudi Arabia in 2012; 7 (4) the President should declare any individual 8 enjoying diplomatic or consular immunity who pro- 9 tected a party from the criminal jurisdiction of the 10 United States as a ‘‘persona non grata’’; and 11 (5) the Department of State should not accredit 12 any Saudi diplomat to serve in the Saudi consulate 13 in Los Angeles until— 14 (A) Abdhulrahman Noorah and Ali 15 Hussain Alhamoud are returned to the United 16 States to face criminal charges brought against 17 them; and 18 (B) the United States finds no reasonable 19 cause to conclude that a Saudi diplomat or 20 agent of the Saudi government aided in the 21 transport of either individual back to Saudi 22 Arabia. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Feb 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S231.IS S231 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 231 IS SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 1 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap- 2 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 3 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 4 Senate; 5 (2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen- 6 ate; 7 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 8 House of Representatives; and 9 (4) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 10 House of Representatives. 11 (b) REPORT.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 14 of State shall submit a report to the appropriate 15 congressional committees that describes the degree 16 to which any citizen of the Kingdom of Saudi Ara- 17 bia, who enjoys diplomatic immunity from criminal 18 jurisdiction in the United States, has assisted in the 19 removal of any Saudi citizen in the United States 20 for the purposes of evading criminal prosecution. 21 (2) FORM.—The report required under para- 22 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form. 23 (c) REPORT ON CASES INVOLVING DIPLOMATIC IM- 24 MUNITY.—Any conclusions reached during the preparation 25 of the report required under subsection (b) shall be in- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Feb 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S231.IS S231 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 231 IS cluded in the 2018 Report on Cases Involving Diplomatic 1 Immunity pursuant to sections 56 and 204B of the State 2 Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 3 2728 and 4303b). 4 SEC. 5. RESTRICTION ON FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OWNER- 5 SHIP OF REAL PROPERTY IN THE UNITED 6 STATES. 7 Section 205(b) of the State Department Basic Au- 8 thorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 4305(b)) is amended— 9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and 10 (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively, 11 and by moving such subparagraphs 2 ems to the 12 right; 13 (2) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 14 the following: 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(2) EVADING PROSECUTION.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Real property in the 19 United States may not be maintained by any 20 foreign mission of a foreign country if the Sec- 21 retary of State, after consultation with the At- 22 torney General, determines that such foreign 23 mission has aided in the removal of a citizen or 24 national of its country from the United States 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Feb 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S231.IS S231 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 231 IS with the effect of evading the prosecution of 1 such citizen or national for 1 or more criminal 2 offenses committed in the United States. 3 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The President may waive 4 the application of subparagraph (A) if, not later 5 than 60 days after the submission of the report 6 required under section (4)(b) of the ESCAPE 7 of Saudi Nationals Act, the President des- 8 ignates each individual identified in such report 9 as enjoying diplomatic or consular immunity 10 who protected a party from the criminal juris- 11 diction of the United States as a persona non 12 grata.’’. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Feb 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S231.IS S231 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS