[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 134 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 134

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                       January 1, 2013.
Whereas, in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2006, 2008, and 
        2009, Congress declared that it deplored the religious persecution by 
        the Government of Iran of the Baha'i community and would hold the 
        Government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights of all Iranian 
        nationals, including members of the Baha'i faith;
Whereas the Department of State 2011 International Religious Freedom Report 
        stated that the Government of Iran ``prohibits Baha'is from teaching and 
        practicing their faith and subjects them to many forms of discrimination 
        that followers of other religions do not face'' and that ``Baha'is are 
        barred from all leadership positions in the government and military'';
Whereas the Department of State 2011 International Religious Freedom Report 
        stated, ``Baha'is are banned from the social pension system. In 
        addition, Baha'is are regularly denied compensation for injury or 
        criminal victimization and the right to inherit property. Baha'i 
        marriages and divorces are not officially recognized, although the 
        government allows a civil attestation of marriage to serve as a marriage 
        certificate.'';
Whereas the Department of State July-December 2010 International Religious 
        Freedom Report stated, ``Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the 
        government has killed more than 200 Bahai's and regularly raids and 
        confiscates their property . . . Unknown assailants vandalized 
        cemeteries and holy places, and school authorities denigrated and abused 
        Baha'i students in primary and secondary schools in at least 10 
        cities.'';
Whereas the Department of State July-December 2010 International Religious 
        Freedom Report stated, ``Public and private universities continued to 
        deny admittance to or expel Baha'i students.'';
Whereas on September 15, 2011, the United Nations Secretary-General issued a 
        special report on human rights in Iran (A/66/361), stating, 
        ``Restrictions on the overall enjoyment of human rights by unrecognized 
        religious minorities, particularly the Baha'i community, remain of 
        serious concern.'';
Whereas on September 23, 2011, the ``United Nations Special Rapporteur on the 
        situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran'', issued a 
        report (A/66/374), noting that ``[a] number of individuals and 
        organizations provided the Special Rapporteur with first-hand 
        testimonies, the preponderance of which presents a pattern of systemic 
        violations of . . . fundamental human rights'' in Iran, and expressed 
        concern regarding reports of ``human and civil rights violations'' 
        against minority groups, including ``the Bahai community, which, despite 
        being the largest non-Muslim religious minority, does not enjoy 
        recognition as such by the Government'' and whose members ``have 
        historically suffered multifaceted discrimination'';
Whereas on November 21, 2011, the Third Committee of the United Nations General 
        Assembly adopted a draft resolution (A/C.3/66/L.56) noting ``[i]ncreased 
        persecution and human rights violations against unrecognized religious 
        minorities, particularly members of the Baha'i Faith, including 
        escalating attacks on Baha'is and their defenders, including in State-
        sponsored media, a significant increase in the number of Baha'is 
        arrested and detained, including the targeted attack on the Baha'i 
        educational institution, the reinstatement of twenty-year sentences 
        against seven Baha'i leaders following deeply flawed legal proceedings, 
        and renewed measures to deny Baha'is employment in the public and 
        private sectors.'';
Whereas on December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a 
        resolution (A/RES/66/175) calling upon the Government of Iran ``[t]o 
        eliminate discrimination against, and exclusion of . . . members of the 
        Baha'i Faith, regarding access to higher education, and to eliminate the 
        criminalization of efforts to provide higher education to Baha'i youth 
        denied access to Iranian universities'';
Whereas in March and May of 2008, intelligence officials of the Government of 
        Iran in Mashhad and Tehran arrested and imprisoned Mrs. Fariba 
        Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, 
        Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, the 
        members of the ad hoc leadership group for the Baha'i community in Iran;
Whereas, in August 2010, the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced the 7 
        Baha'i leaders to 20-year prison terms on charges of spying for Israel, 
        insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the regime;
Whereas the lawyers for the 7 leaders were reportedly provided extremely limited 
        access to the prisoners and their files;
Whereas these 7 Baha'i leaders were targeted solely on the basis of their 
        religion;
Whereas beginning on May 22, 2011, officials of the Government of Iran in 
        Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz raided the homes of individuals 
        associated with the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education, searching 
        over 30 homes, seizing educational materials, and arresting 
        approximately 16 individuals;
Whereas, in October 2011, Mr. Vahid Mahmoudi, Mr. Mahmoud Badavam, Ms. Noushin 
        Khadem, Mr. Kamran Mortezaie, Mr. Farhad Sedghi, Mr. Riaz Sobhani, and 
        Mr. Ramin Zibaie were each sentenced to 4 or 5-year prison terms for the 
        crime of ``membership in the deviant Baha'i sect, with the goal of 
        taking action against the security of the country, in order to further 
        the aims of the deviant sect and those of organizations outside the 
        country,'' and, in January 2012, Mr. Mahmoudi was released on probation;
Whereas ordinary Iranian citizens who belong to the Baha'i Faith are 
        disproportionately targeted, interrogated, and detained under the 
        pretext of national security;
Whereas the efforts of the Government of Iran to collect information on 
        individual Baha'is are reportedly ongoing as evidenced by a letter, 
        dated November 5, 2011 from the Director of the Department of Education 
        in the county of Shahriar in the province of Tehran, instructing the 
        directors of schools in his jurisdiction to ``subtly and in a 
        confidential manner'' collect information on Baha'i students;
Whereas the Baha'i community continues to undergo intense economic and social 
        pressure, including an ongoing campaign in the town of Semnan where the 
        government reportedly has harassed and detained Baha'is and closed 17 
        Baha'i owned businesses in the last three years;
Whereas the Government of Iran is party to the International Covenants on Human 
        Rights; and
Whereas the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 
        2010 (Public Law 111-195) urges the President and the Secretary of State 
        to impose sanctions on ``the officials of the Government of Iran and 
        other individuals who are responsible for continuing and severe 
        violations of human rights and religious freedom in Iran'': Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored 
        persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the 
        International Covenants on Human Rights;
            (2) calls on the Government of Iran to immediately release the seven 
        leaders, the six imprisoned educators, and all other prisoners held 
        solely on account of their religion;
            (3) calls on the President and Secretary of State, in cooperation 
        with responsible nations, to immediately condemn the Government of 
        Iran's continued violation of human rights and demand the immediate 
        release of prisoners held solely on account of their religion; and
            (4) urges the President and Secretary of State to utilize measures, 
        such as those available under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, 
        Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 and Executive Order 13553, to 
        sanction officials of the Government of Iran and other individuals 
        directly responsible for egregious human rights violations in Iran, 
        including against the Baha'i community.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.