[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 214 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 214

    Calling upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to 
               immediately release Dr. Haleh Esfandiari.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 24, 2007

 Mr. Cardin (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Biden, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. 
Smith, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Bingaman, and Mr. Coleman) submitted 
      the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Calling upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to 
               immediately release Dr. Haleh Esfandiari.

Whereas Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, Ph.D., holds dual citizenship in the United States 
        and the Islamic Republic of Iran;
Whereas Dr. Esfandiari taught Persian language and literature for many years at 
        Princeton University, where she inspired untold numbers of students to 
        study the rich Persian language and culture;
Whereas Dr. Esfandiari is a resident of the State of Maryland and the Director 
        of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center 
        for Scholars in Washington, DC (referred to in this preamble as the 
        ``Wilson Center'');
Whereas, for the past decade, Dr. Esfandiari has traveled to Iran twice a year 
        to visit her ailing 93-year-old mother;
Whereas, in December 2006, on her return to the airport during her last visit to 
        Iran, Dr. Esfandiari was robbed by 3 masked, knife-wielding men, who 
        stole her travel documents, luggage, and other effects;
Whereas, when Dr. Esfandiari attempted to obtain replacement travel documents in 
        Iran, she was invited to an interview by a representative of the 
        Ministry of Intelligence of Iran;
Whereas Dr. Esfandiari was interrogated by the Ministry of Intelligence for 
        hours on many days;
Whereas the questioning of the Ministry of Intelligence focused on the Middle 
        East Program at the Wilson Center;
Whereas Dr. Esfandiari answered all questions to the best of her ability, and 
        the Wilson Center also provided extensive information to the Ministry in 
        a good faith effort to aid Dr. Esfandiari;
Whereas the harassment of Dr. Esfandiari increased, with her being awakened 
        while napping to find 3 strange men standing at her bedroom door, one 
        wielding a video camera, and later being pressured to make false 
        confessions against herself and to falsely implicate the Wilson Center 
        in activities in which it had no part;
Whereas Lee Hamilton, former United States Representative and president of the 
        Wilson Center, has written to the President of Iran to call his 
        attention to Dr. Esfandiari's dire situation;
Whereas Mr. Hamilton repeated that the Wilson Center's mission is to provide 
        forums to exchange views and opinions and not to take positions on 
        issues, nor try to influence specific outcomes;
Whereas the lengthy interrogations of Dr. Esfandiari by the Ministry of 
        Intelligence of Iran stopped on February 14, 2007, but she heard nothing 
        for 10 weeks and was denied her passport;
Whereas, on May 8, 2007, Dr. Esfandiari honored a summons to appear at the 
        Ministry of Intelligence, whereby she was taken immediately to Evin 
        prison, where she is currently being held; and
Whereas the Ministry of Intelligence has implicated Dr. Esfandiari and the 
        Wilson Center in advancing the alleged aim of the United States 
        Government of supporting a ``soft revolution'' in Iran: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the Senate calls upon the Government of the Islamic 
        Republic of Iran to immediately release Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, 
        replace her lost travel documents, and cease its harassment 
        tactics; and
            (2) it is the sense of the Senate that--
                    (A) the United States Government, through all 
                appropriate diplomatic means and channels, should 
                encourage the Government of Iran to release Dr. 
                Esfandiari and offer her an apology; and
                    (B) the United States should coordinate its 
                response with its allies throughout the Middle East, 
                other governments, and all appropriate international 
                organizations.
                                 <all>