[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 52 (Thursday, March 29, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S2276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 345, S. Res. 80.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 80) condemning the Government of Iran 
     for its state-sponsored persecution of the Baha'i minority 
     and its continued violation of the International Covenants on 
     Human Rights.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.


                           Amendment No. 1999

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Paul 
amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to and that the Senate 
proceed immediately to a voice vote on adoption of the resolution, as 
amended.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 1999) was agreed to, as follows:
       On page 5, line 4, strike the words ``all available''.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the resolution, 
as amended.
  The resolution (S. Res. 80), as amended, was agreed to.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that the 
preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table 
with no intervening action or debate, and that any related statements 
be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, as amended, with its preamble reads as follows:

                               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 
     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.

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