[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5855 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5855

 To enshrine the legacy of Jamal Khashoggi by protecting activists and 
journalists, codifying the Khashoggi Ban, and introducing the Khashoggi 
   Amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2023

Mr. Schiff (for himself, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Connolly, and Mr. McGovern) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To enshrine the legacy of Jamal Khashoggi by protecting activists and 
journalists, codifying the Khashoggi Ban, and introducing the Khashoggi 
   Amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Jamal Khashoggi Protection of 
Activists and Press Freedom Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) A free and independent press is necessary for citizens 
        to make informed choices on issues of public concern, to have 
        the information necessary to recognize truth from falsehood, 
        and to hold the powerful and Government officials to account.
            (2) As reflected in the First Amendment to the United 
        States Constitution, a free press is essential to safeguard 
        democracy.
            (3) The suppression of the press is historically associated 
        with authoritarian rule.
            (4) As provided in article 19 of the United Nations 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International 
        Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all people enjoy the 
        right to freedom of opinion and expression, which includes the 
        right to seek, receive, and impart information.
            (5) An informed public is fundamental to a free society.
            (6) In accordance with a long United States history of 
        championing freedom of the press around the globe, the Daniel 
        Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 was enacted into law 
        (Public Law 111-166).
            (7) Since the passage of the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the 
        Press Act of 2009, the global environment for a free and 
        independent press has become more repressive.
            (8) According to data from the Committee to Protect 
        Journalists, at least 363 journalists were imprisoned globally 
        in relation to their work as of December 1, 2022, a new global 
        high that overtakes the prior year's record by 20 percent and 
        marks another grim milestone in a deteriorating media 
        landscapes. The Committee to Protect Journalists also reported 
        there was complete impunity in nearly 80 percent of the 263 
        cases of journalists murdered globally between September 1, 
        2012, to August 31, 2022.
            (9) According to Freedom House's publication ``Freedom in 
        the World 2023'', global freedom has declined for 17 
        consecutive years, and over the past year, media freedom came 
        under pressure in at least 157 countries and territories 
        assessed in the report. Freedom House data also show that 
        freedom of expression, for the media and individuals, has 
        declined more than any other civil liberty over the last 17 
        years, and infringement on free expression is one of the 
        biggest drivers of democratic backsliding globally.
            (10) According to data from Reporters Without Borders, 55 
        journalists were killed in 2022, an almost 15 percent increase 
        over the prior year, and since 2020, more journalists have been 
        deliberately targeted and killed in countries considered ``at 
        peace'' than in conflict zones.
            (11) In 2018, the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the 
        hands of Saudi intelligence officers acting on explicit orders 
        of the Saudi Government underscored the extent to which those 
        in power will go to stifle the freedom of expression, silence 
        their critics, and eliminate the threat they believe 
        independent journalists pose to their rule. The Office of the 
        Director of National Intelligence released a partial, 
        declassified intelligence report on February 26, 2021, which 
        concluded that Khashoggi's murder was approved by Saudi Crown 
        Prince Mohamed bin Salman. However, impunity continues for the 
        Saudi officials involved in this crime.
            (12) In March 2022, a Turkish judge, likely at the behest 
        of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, issued a ruling that closed 
        the criminal trial of the perpetrators in Turkiye (Turkey) and 
        transferred it to Saudi Arabia, where the case against the 
        perpetrators was promptly dismissed, foreclosing the prospect 
        that they will ever be held accountable.
            (13) In an effort to combat attacks against journalists and 
        others exercising their right to freedom of expression, 
        Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in February 2021 announced 
        the Khashoggi Ban, a new policy allowing the Department of 
        State to impose visa restrictions on individuals who, acting on 
        behalf of a foreign government, are believed to have been 
        directly engaged in serious, extraterritorial counter-dissident 
        activities, including activities that suppress, harass, 
        surveil, threaten, or harm journal1ists, activists, or other 
        persons perceived to be dissidents for their work.

SEC. 3. KHASHOGGI BAN GROUND OF INADMISSIBILITY.

    Section 212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(H) Khashoggi ban.--
                            ``(i) In general.--An alien who is 
                        determined by the Secretary of State, or the 
                        Secretary of Homeland Security in consultation 
                        with the Secretary of State, to be engaged in 
                        counter-dissident activities is inadmissible.
                            ``(ii) Discretionary ban.--Any alien who is 
                        an immediate family member of an alien who is 
                        inadmissible under clause (i) may be 
                        inadmissible, as determined by the Secretary of 
                        State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
                        consultation with the Secretary of State.
                            ``(iii) Notification of determinations.--If 
                        an alien is determined to be inadmissible under 
                        clause (i) or (ii), the Secretary of State, or 
                        the Secretary of Homeland Security in 
                        consultation with the Secretary of State, shall 
                        notify Congress, and may also make a public 
                        statement, identifying the alien and the 
                        reasons for the determination.
                            ``(iv) Clarification.--For the purposes of 
                        clause (iii), the records of the Department of 
                        State and of diplomatic and consular offices of 
                        the United States pertaining to the issuance or 
                        refusal of visas or permits to enter the United 
                        States shall not be considered confidential.
                            ``(v) National interest waiver.--The 
                        Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland 
                        Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 
                        State, may waive the requirements of this 
                        subparagraph, or any part thereof, if such 
                        Secretary determines that such a waiver--
                                    ``(I) is necessary to permit the 
                                United States to comply with the 
                                Agreement Regarding the Headquarters of 
                                the United Nations, signed at Lake 
                                Success June 26, 1947, and entered into 
                                force November 21, 1947 (TIAS 1676), or 
                                any other applicable international 
                                obligation of the United States; or
                                    ``(II) is in the national interest 
                                of the United States.
                        Such waiver shall be made in writing to 
                        Congress and shall include a brief description 
                        of the how such waiver relates to a reason 
                        described in subclause (I) or (II).
                            ``(vi) Definition.--In this subparagraph, 
                        the term `counter-dissident activities' means 
                        actions taken by a foreign government or an 
                        individual who operates subject to the 
                        direction or control of a foreign government or 
                        official, to silence, suppress, harass, 
                        surveil, threaten, or harm journalists, 
                        activists, or other persons perceived to be 
                        dissidents by the foreign government, which may 
                        include extrajudicial executions, physical 
                        attacks, digital stalking, abductions, illegal 
                        deportations, or other forms of aggression, 
                        threats, or intimidation toward the targeted 
                        individual or close associates or family 
                        members of that individual.''.

SEC. 4. KHASHOGGI AMENDMENT TO THE FOREIGN SOVEREIGN IMMUNITIES ACT.

    (a) General Exceptions to the Jurisdictional Immunity of a Foreign 
State.--Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) in which money damages are sought against a foreign 
        state for the personal injury or death of a United States 
        person (as such term is defined in section 1637(d)(10) of the 
        Carl Levin and Howard P. `Buck' McKeon National Defense 
        Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (50 U.S.C. 1708(d)(10)), 
        which personal injury or death occurred--
                    ``(A) outside of the territory of that foreign 
                state on or after October 2, 2017; and
                    ``(B) as a direct result of actions taken outside 
                of the territory of that foreign state by a foreign 
                state or an individual who operated subject to the 
                direction or control of a foreign state or official, to 
                silence, suppress, harass, surveil, threaten, or harm 
                the United States person because of that person's role 
                as a journalist, activist, or other perceived 
                dissidence.''.
    (b) Exceptions to the Immunity From Attachment or Execution.--
Section 1610 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking 
``section 1605(a)(2), (3), or (5)'' and inserting ``paragraph (2), (3), 
(5), or (7) of section 1605(a)''.

SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and every year thereafter for three years, the Secretary of 
State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, and 
the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of 
the Senate, a report, including a classified annex if necessary, 
describing, for the previous year, each act of serious counter-
dissident activity committed by--
            (1) each individual determined to be inadmissible under 
        section 212(a)(3)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1182); and
            (2) each individual with respect to whom a waiver was 
        granted under clause (v) of such section 212(a)(3)(H) and a 
        justification for each such waiver.
    (b) Posting of Report.--The Secretary of State shall make the 
unclassified version of the report required under subsection (a) 
publicly available on the website of the Department of State.

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this Act may be 
construed to alter or affect any sanction imposed with respect to 
violations of human rights under any other provision of law or to limit 
the authority of the President to impose sanctions with respect to 
violations of human rights.
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