[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 1, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S1062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 80--CONDEMNING 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
Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mr. Durbin) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 80
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
Resolved, 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
all available 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.
Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce a bipartisan
resolution with my colleague Senator Durbin condemning the government
of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of the Baha'i minority.
Founded in Iran in 1844, the Baha'i faith now has more than 5 million
adherents in 236 countries and territories. The Baha'is comprise the
largest religious minority in Iran.
The Baha'is preach tolerance, diversity and equality. Yet since the
Islamic Revolution of 1979, the Baha'is have faced brutal and
unrelenting persecution in Iran. According to the U.S. State
Department, more than 200 Baha'is have been killed since 1979.
The Baha'is are regularly denied employment, access to higher
education, and face multiple forms of discrimination and harassment.
In August 2010, the Iranian government sentenced seven leaders of
Iran's Baha'i community to 20-year prison terms on charges of ``spying
for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, propaganda against the
regime and spreading corruption on earth.'' Their lawyer has been
denied all access to the Baha'i prisoners and their files. Last month,
the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced a Baha'i human rights
activist, Navid Khanjani, to a 12-year prison term on charges that
included ``propaganda against the regime by publishing news, reports,
and interviews with foreign TV and radio.''
The United States and the international community need to act now.
The bipartisan resolution condemns the Iranian regime's continued
persecution of its Baha'i minority, calls on the regime to release
Baha'i political prisoners and urges President Obama and Secretary
Clinton to designate Iranian officials and other individuals directly
responsible for egregious human rights violations in Iran.
The plight of Baha'is in Iran should be deeply personal to all
Americans. I call on the administration to elevate human rights in
Iran, including the plight of Iranian Baha'is, to the top of the
international agenda.
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