[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 62 (Thursday, May 18, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H3312-H3313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IRAN MUST END ABUSES OF HUMAN, CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS RIGHTS

  (Mr. MENENDEZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the 13 innocent 
individuals who were arbitrarily arrested by the Iranian regime over 
one year ago solely because of their religious beliefs. The 13 are 
Jewish. In Iran that

[[Page H3313]]

means you can be arrested and detained without formal charges, denied 
bail and presumed guilty of spying, despite the absence of evidence or 
motive.
  As some Members of Congress seek to engage the Iranian regime to 
permit business arrangements, I urge all of us to consider the fate of 
these 13 people. We need to send a message to the mullahs in Tehran 
that only when Iran honors the will of the majority of its people, 
stops building weapons of mass destruction and ends abuses of human 
civil and religious rights, will the United States again consider 
engaging Iran as a legitimate member of the diplomatic community and 
the global economy.

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