[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 176 (Tuesday, December 1, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12088-S12089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CONDEMNING THE PERSECUTION OF THE BAHA'I MINORITY IN IRAN

  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign Relations 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 71 and 
the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 71) condemning the Government of Iran 
     for its state-sponsored persecution of the Baha'i minority in 
     Iran and its continued violation of the International 
     Covenants on Human Rights.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent that a Wyden amendment to the 
resolution, which is at the desk, be agreed to; the resolution, as 
amended, be agreed to; that a Wyden amendment to the preamble, which is 
at the desk, be agreed to; the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; the 
motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening 
action or debate; and any statements related to the resolution be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2796) was agreed to, as follows:

                (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

       Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the 
     following:
       That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored 
     persecution of the Baha'i minority in Iran 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, Mr. Sasan Taqva, and Ms. Haleh Roohi; and
       (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, 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, Mr. Sasan Taqva, and Ms. Haleh Roohi.

  The amendment (No. 2797) was agreed to, as follows:

       Strike the preamble and insert the following:
       Whereas, in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 
     2006, and 2008, 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, in November 2007, the Iranian Ministry of 
     Information in Shiraz jailed Baha'is Ms. Raha Sabet, age 33, 
     Mr. Sasan Taqva, age 32, and Ms. Haleh Roohi, age 29, for 
     ostensibly ``indirectly teaching the Baha'i Faith'' and 
     ``engaging in anti-government propaganda'' while educating 
     underprivileged children and gave them 4-year prison terms, 
     which they are serving;
       Whereas Ms. Sabet, Mr. Taqva, and Ms. Roohi were targeted 
     solely on the basis of their religion;
       Whereas, on January 23, 2008, the Department of State 
     released a statement urging the Government of Iran to release 
     all individuals held without due process and a fair trial, 
     including the 3 young Baha'is being held in an Iranian 
     Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Shiraz;
       Whereas, in March and May of 2008, Iranian intelligence 
     officials 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 these seven leaders have been imprisoned for well 
     over a year and are yet to stand trial, the trial having been 
     delayed multiple times;
       Whereas official Iranian media has announced that they will 
     face charges of ``espionage for Israel, insulting religious 
     sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic'';
       Whereas these seven Baha'i leaders were targeted solely on 
     the basis of their religion; and
       Whereas the Government of Iran is party to the 
     International Covenants on Human Rights: Now, therefore, be 
     it

  The resolution (S. Res. 71), as amended, was agreed to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The resolution, as amended, with its preamble, as amended, was agreed 
to, as follows:

                               S. Res. 71

       Whereas in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 
     2006, and 2008, 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 in November 2007, the Iranian Ministry of 
     Information in Shiraz jailed Baha'is Ms. Raha Sabet, age 33, 
     Mr. Sasan Taqva, age 32, and Ms. Haleh Roohi, age 29, for 
     ostensibly ``indirectly teaching the Baha'i Faith'' and 
     ``engaging in anti-government propaganda'' while educating 
     underprivileged children and gave them 4-year prison terms, 
     which they are serving;
       Whereas Ms. Sabet, Mr. Taqva, and Ms. Roohi were targeted 
     solely on the basis of their religion;
       Whereas on January 23, 2008, the Department of State 
     released a statement urging the Government of Iran to release 
     all individuals held without due process and a fair trial, 
     including the 3 young Baha'is being held in an Iranian 
     Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Shiraz;

[[Page S12089]]

       Whereas in March and May of 2008, Iranian intelligence 
     officials 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 these seven leaders have been imprisoned for well 
     over a year and are yet to stand trial, the trial having been 
     delayed multiple times;
       Whereas official Iranian media has announced that they will 
     face charges of ``espionage for Israel, insulting religious 
     sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic'';
       Whereas these seven Baha'i leaders were targeted solely on 
     the basis of their religion; and
       Whereas the Government of Iran is party to the 
     International Covenants on Human Rights: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored 
     persecution of the Baha'i minority in Iran 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, Mr. Sasan Taqva, and Ms. Haleh Roohi; and
       (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, 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, Mr. Sasan Taqva, and Ms. Haleh Roohi.

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