[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 33 (Thursday, March 1, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONDEMNING IRAN FOR ITS PERSECUTION OF YOUCEF NADARKHANI

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                               speech of

                          HON. E. SCOTT RIGELL

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 29, 2012

  Mr. RIGELL. Mr. Speaker, Youcef Nadarkhani is a Christian pastor in 
Iran who at this very moment is under sentence of death for refusing to 
convert to Islam. As a matter of conscience, Pastor Youcef's story must 
be boldly told in this chamber and in every place where human rights 
are valued. His story reminds us of the blessings of liberty which we 
enjoy and sometimes take for granted. It reminds us that millions of 
people around the world live under brutal regimes that deny those same 
basic freedoms to their own people.
  In 2009, Pastor Youcef protested a law that would forcibly impose 
Islam on his children. In September 2010 an Iranian court accused 
Pastor Youcef of the ``crime'' of abandoning the Islamic faith and 
condemned him to death by hanging unless he converts to Islam.
  Mr. Speaker, this case represents just one in a long line of abuses 
the government of Iran has perpetrated against religious minorities. 
The intolerant, indeed barbaric, actions of the Iranian regime trample 
on the most basic of human rights--the right to freedom of thought, 
conscience, and religion. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.
  Iranian leaders must understand that if Iran is to be a legitimate 
member of the community of nations, if it seeks trade, if it seeks the 
benefit of economic engagement with the free world, if it wants to 
provide a firm and secure future for its citizens, it must protect and 
defend the rights of religious minorities. It must respect the 
religious liberties which its own constitution guarantees, and which it 
is obligated to respect as a signatory to the United Nations Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights.
  So I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 556 condemning the 
government of Iran for its continued persecution, imprisonment, and 
sentencing of Pastor Youcef on the charge of apostasy. I am a cosponsor 
of this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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