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 2010 Department of State International Religious Freedom Report stated,
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, more than 200 Baha'is have been
killed, and many have faced regular raids and confiscation of
property.
;
Whereas
the 2009 Department of State Human Rights Report stated, The government
[of Iran] continued to repress Baha'is and prevent them from meeting in homes
to worship. It banned them from government and military leadership posts, the
social pension system, and public schools and universities unless they
concealed their faith.
;
Whereas, on October 15, 2010, the United
Nations Secretary-General issued a special report on human rights in Iran,
stating that the Baha'i, who comprise the country's largest non-Muslim
religious minority, face multiple forms of discrimination and harassment,
including denial of employment, Government benefits and access to higher
education
;
Whereas, on December 21, 2010, the United
Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/65/226) noting
serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations
in Iran,
including against the Baha'i community;
Whereas, in November 2007, the Ministry of
Information of Iran in Shiraz jailed Baha'is Ms. Raha Sabet, 33, Mr. Sasan
Taqva, 32, and Ms. Haleh Roohi, 29, for educating underprivileged children, and
gave them 4-year prison terms;
Whereas
Ms. Sabet remains imprisoned in Iran;
Whereas
Ms. Sabet, Mr. Taqva, and Ms. Roohi were targeted solely on the basis of their
religion;
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 coordinating 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, propaganda
against the regime and spreading corruption on earth
;
Whereas
the lawyer for these 7 leaders, Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel Laureate, has been
denied all access to the prisoners and their files;
Whereas
these 7 Baha'i leaders were targeted solely on the basis of their
religion;
Whereas, in February 2011, the
Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced human rights activist and follower of
the Baha’i faith, Navid Khanjani, to a 12-year prison term on charges of
propaganda against the regime by publishing news, reports, and
interviews with foreign TV and radio,
among others;
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) authorizes 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
That the Senate—
(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 and all other prisoners held solely on
account of their religion, including Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin
Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs.
Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, Ms. Raha Sabet, and Mr. Navid
Khanjani;
(3)calls on the President and Secretary of
State, in cooperation with the international community, 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,
including Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr.
Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, Ms.
Raha Sabet, and Mr. Navid Khanjani; 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.