Federal

A concurrent resolution commending the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men of Iran demonstrating in more than 133 cities and risking their safety to speak out against the Iranian regime's human rights abuses.

Source: Congress.gov · 3,286 words in original text

Summary

# S. CON. RES. 2: Commending Iranian Protesters ## WHAT THIS BILL DOES This bill expresses the Senate and House's support for Iranians protesting against their government. Congress commends the bravery of protesters demanding human rights and condemns the Iranian regime's violent response, including killings and arrests. ## WHO IT AFFECTS This bill directly addresses: - Women and men of Iran participating in protests - Iranian security forces and government officials - The Biden Administration - Private technology companies - The international community ## KEY PROVISIONS - Congress commends the bravery and courage of Iranian protesters defending their human rights and risking their safety to speak against the Iranian regime's abuses (Resolved by the Senate, section 1) - Congress condemns the brutal beating and death of Mahsa Amini and calls for transparent accountability for all killings of protesters by Iranian security forces (Resolved by the Senate, section 2) - Congress supports internet freedom programs that help circumvent censorship, including the Open Technology Fund, which provides VPNs and proxy servers (Resolved by the Senate, section 3) - Congress encourages the Biden Administration to impose additional human rights sanctions on Iranian officials and entities responsible for repressing protests, prioritize unrestricted internet access in Iran, and develop a strategy to prevent Iran from obtaining facial recognition data for mass surveillance (Resolved by the Senate, section 4) - Congress calls on the international community to publicly condemn Iranian regime violence against protesters and impose human rights sanctions on responsible officials and entities (Resolved by the Senate, section 8) ## WHAT CHANGES If this bill passes, Congress will have formally expressed its support for Iranian protesters and its opposition to the Iranian regime's actions. The bill encourages the Biden Administration and private sector to take specific actions around internet access, sanctions, and preventing facial recognition technology misuse, but does not require them by law since this is a concurrent resolution (a statement of position rather than binding legislation). ## IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS None defined in bill text. ## EFFECTIVE DATE Not specified in bill text.

III Calendar No. 153 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 2 Commending the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men of Iran demonstrating in more than 133 cities and risking their safety to speak out against the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 26, 2023 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. COONS, Mr. RISCH, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. COTTON, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KELLY, Mr. KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. DAINES, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. BENNET, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. BRITT, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. WELCH, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. SMITH, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. WARREN, Mrs. MURRAY, and Mr. WARNOCK) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations JULY 25, 2023 Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, without amendment, and an amendment to the preamble, and with an amendment to the title [Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Commending the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men of Iran demonstrating in more than 133 cities VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\SC2.RS SC2 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •SCON 2 RS and risking their safety to speak out against the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses. Whereas, on September 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini passed away in the custody of Iranian ‘‘morality police’’ following a 3-day coma due to wounds, including bone fracture, hemorrhage, and cerebral edema consistent with severe beating, inflicted by the police for purportedly wearing a hijab improperly; Whereas, on September 16, 2022, Iranians gathered in the streets of Tehran to protest the killing of Mahsa Amini; Whereas demonstrations have since spread to more than 133 cities and 130 universities in Iran, where women are re- moving or burning hijabs, cutting their hair, and dancing in front of Iranian security forces, joined by their fellow Iranian citizens, in a call to end the Iranian regime’s sys- temic repression; Whereas Iranian security forces have responded to such dem- onstrations with violence and detentions, including deten- tions of journalists and activists for covering the protests; Whereas the security forces reportedly have killed more than 516 protestors, including at least 70 children, although the number of injuries and deaths is likely higher, but is unobtainable due to internet blackouts; Whereas at least 19,200 Iranians have been arrested across Iran according to official sources, and many thousands more have been detained according to independent re- ports; Whereas more than 60 percent of Iran’s population is young- er than 30 years old, and the protests continue to be fueled by young people; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC2.RS SC2 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •SCON 2 RS Whereas Iran’s Revolutionary Courts have executed at least 4 individuals who were involved in the protests, namely Mohsen Shekari, Majid Reza Rahnavard, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, and Sayed Mohammad Hosseini, and have charged at least 100 more individuals with crimes that are punishable in Iran by death; Whereas videos, images, and demonstrations have spread to social media platforms and are an important way for the voices of the Iranian people to be heard; Whereas internet monitoring groups have reported that the Iranian regime has— (1) caused near-total disruption of internet connectivity in parts of Iran and partial disruptions in city centers; and (2) blocked WhatsApp, Twitter, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, and video games with chat func- tions; Whereas common protest chants include— (1) ‘‘Women, life, and freedom!’’; (2) ‘‘Iranians die but will not be suppressed!’’; and (3) ‘‘Death to the dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei!’’; Whereas the Iranian regime has a long history of structural and legal discrimination against women, including bar- riers for women seeking justice against domestic violence and criminal prohibitions against women singing or show- ing hair in public and studying certain technical subjects; Whereas the Iranian regime approved of ‘‘depriving one social right or more’’ for any woman who posts an unveiled pic- ture of herself on social media, and, in August 2022, ap- VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC2.RS SC2 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •SCON 2 RS proved of enforcing mandatory hijab laws through facial recognition; Whereas, through misogynistic criminal statutes, the Iranian regime for decades has detained and engaged in the on- going persecution of women, including— (1) Saba Kord Afshari, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for posting videos to social media without a hijab and transferred into Ward 6 of the notorious Qarchak Women’s Prison, which the Secretary of the Treasury has identified as a place at which gross viola- tions of human rights take place; (2) Raheleh Ahmadi, mother of Afshari, who was sentenced to 2 years in prison for advocacy on behalf of Afshari; (3) Yasaman Aryani, her mother Monireh Arabshahi, and Mojgan Keshavarz, who were sentenced to between 16 and 23 years in prison for posting a video for International Women’s Day in 2019, during which they walked without headscarves through a metro train in Tehran, handing flowers to female passengers; (4) human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was sentenced in 2019 to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes for providing legal defense services to women charged with not wearing a hijab; (5) Narges Mohammadi, a prominent rights advo- cate, who— (A) was sentenced to 10 years in prison in May 2015 for ‘‘establishing an illegal group’’, ‘‘assembly and collusion to act against national security’’, and ‘‘propaganda against the state’’; (B) was arrested in November 2019 (on the second anniversary of countrywide protests) and re- arrested in 2021; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC2.RS SC2 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •SCON 2 RS (C) had her prison sentence extended in Octo- ber 2022 to 11 years and 9 months; (6) former Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Shahindokht Molaverdi, who was charged with encouraging ‘‘corruption, prostitution, and sexual devi- ance’’, a common charge against women refusing manda- tory hijab laws, and sentenced in December 2020 to 30 months in prison for defending the right of women to at- tend sporting events and criticizing the practice of child marriage; (7) 6 women who were sentenced by the Culture and Media Court of Tehran in July 2022 to each serve 1 year in prison for the offense of singing songs in public; (8) Niloufar Hamedi, who was one of the first Ira- nian journalists to report on Mahsa Amini’s death, who was arrested on September 22, 2022, and is being held in solitary confinement; and (9) countless other women; Whereas the Iranian regime consistently commits a range of human rights abuses in addition to its systematic perse- cution of women and peaceful protesters, including— (1) unlawful or arbitrary killings and torture; (2) trials without due process; (3) forced disappearances; (4) arbitrary arrest and detention; (5) life-threatening prison conditions; (6) transnational attacks against dissidents; and (7) severe restrictions on free expression and the media, peaceful assembly and association, and religious freedom; Whereas Freedom House ranks the Government of Iran as one of the worst human rights violators in the world, VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC2.RS SC2 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •SCON 2 RS with a Global Freedom Score of 14 out of 100 and an Internet Freedom Score of 16 out of 100; Whereas peaceful protests in Iran during 2022 have focused on grievances such as— (1) mismanagement of the economy and national re- sources; (2) prioritization of funding for terror groups and pariah regimes over social services for the people of Iran; and (3) widespread political corruption: Now, therefore, be it Whereas, on September 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini passed away in the custody of Iranian ‘‘morality police’’ following a 3-day coma due to wounds, including bone fracture, hemorrhage, and cerebral edema consistent with severe beating, inflicted by the police for purportedly wear- ing a hijab improperly; Whereas, on September 16, 2022, Iranians gathered in the streets of Tehran to protest the killing of Mahsa Amini; Whereas demonstrations have since spread to more than 165 cities and 144 universities in Iran, where women are re- moving or burning hijabs, cutting their hair, and dancing in front of Iranian security forces, joined by their fellow Iranian citizens, in a call to end the Iranian regime’s sys- temic repression; Whereas Iranian security forces have responded to such dem- onstrations with violence and detentions, including deten- tions of journalists and activists for covering the protests; Whereas the security forces reportedly have killed at least 573 protestors, including at least 71 children and 48 women, VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC2.RS SC2 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •SCON 2 RS although the number of injuries and deaths is likely high- er, but is unobtainable due to internet blackouts; Whereas at least 19,763 Iranians have been arrested across Iran according to official sources, and many thousands more have been detained according to independent reports; Whereas more than 60 percent of Iran’s population is younger than 30 years old, and the protests continue to be fueled by young people; Whereas Iran’s Revolutionary Courts have executed at least 7 individuals who were involved in the protests, namely Mohsen Shekari, Majid Reza Rahnavard, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, Sayed Mohammad Hosseini, Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi, and Saeed Yaqoubi, and have charged at least 100 more individuals with crimes that are punishable in Iran by death; Whereas security forces have used rubber bullets on protesters, which have blinded many people; Whereas thousands of young female students across dozens of provinces and hundreds of schools have been the targets of what appears to be organized poisonings; Whereas videos, images, and demonstrations have spread to so- cial media platforms and are an important way for the voices of the Iranian people to be heard; Whereas internet monitoring groups have reported that the Ira- nian regime has— (1) caused near-total disruption of internet connectivity in parts of Iran and partial disruptions in city centers; and (2) blocked WhatsApp, Twitter, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, and video games with chat functions; Whereas common protest chants include— VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC2.RS SC2 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •SCON 2 RS (1) ‘‘Women, life, and freedom!’’; (2) ‘‘Iranians die but will not be suppressed!’’; and (3) ‘‘Death to the dictator Ayatollah Ali Khamenei!’’; Whereas the Iranian regime has a long history of structural and legal discrimination against women, including bar- riers for women seeking justice against domestic violence and criminal prohibitions against women singing or show- ing hair in public and studying certain technical subjects; Whereas the Iranian regime approved of ‘‘depriving one social right or more’’ for any woman who posts an unveiled pic- ture of herself on social media, and, in August 2022, ap- proved of enforcing mandatory hijab laws through facial recognition; Whereas, through misogynistic criminal statutes, the Iranian regime for decades has detained and engaged in the ongo- ing persecution of women, including— (1) Saba Kord Afshari, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for posting videos to social media without a hijab and transferred into Ward 6 of the notorious Qarchak Women’s Prison, which the Secretary of the Treasury has identified as a place at which gross viola- tions of human rights take place; (2) Raheleh Ahmadi, mother of Afshari, who was sen- tenced to 2 years in prison for advocacy on behalf of Afshari; (3) Yasaman Aryani, her mother Monireh Arabshahi, and Mojgan Keshavarz, who were sentenced to between 16 and 23 years in prison for posting a video for Inter- national Women’s Day in 2019, during which they walked without headscarves through a metro train in Tehran, handing flowers to female passengers; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC2.RS SC2 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •SCON 2 RS (4) human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was sentenced in 2019 to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes for providing legal defense services to women charged with not wearing a hijab; (5) Narges Mohammadi, a prominent rights advocate, who— (A) was sentenced to 10 years in prison in May 2015 for ‘‘establishing an illegal group’’, ‘‘assembly and collusion to act against national security’’, and ‘‘propaganda against the state’’; (B) was arrested in November 2019 (on the sec- ond anniversary of countrywide protests) and re- arrested in 2021; and (C) had her prison sentence extended in October 2022 to 11 years and 9 months; (6) former Vice President for Women and Family Af- fairs, Shahindokht Molaverdi, who was charged with en- couraging ‘‘corruption, prostitution, and sexual deviance’’, a common charge against women refusing mandatory hijab laws, and sentenced in December 2020 to 30 months in prison for defending the right of women to attend sport- ing events and criticizing the practice of child marriage; (7) 6 women who were sentenced by the Culture and Media Court of Tehran in July 2022 to each serve 1 year in prison for the offense of singing songs in public; (8) Niloufar Hamedi, who was one of the first Ira- nian journalists to report on Mahsa Amini’s death, who was arrested on September 22, 2022, and is being held in solitary confinement; and (9) countless other women; Whereas the Iranian regime consistently commits a range of human rights abuses in addition to its systematic persecu- tion of women and peaceful protesters, including— VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:58 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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