[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 142 (Wednesday, November 19, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1635]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IRANIAN GOVERNMENT IS INHUMAN, BARBARIC, AND A TERROR ON THE IRANIAN 
                                 PEOPLE

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 19, 2014

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in Iran there is no freedom of speech 
or press. Criticize the government of Iran and you can be arrested, 
tortured, and even killed. The MEK, an opposition group that only wants 
freedom for the Iranian people, has seen that firsthand. Hundreds of 
its members have been executed for doing nothing more than protesting 
the government.
  It isn't just political dissidents who are persecuted in Iran. There 
is no freedom of religion in Iran. If you are not a Shiite Muslim, you 
never know when you might be dragged off to jail.
  Just like religious minorities, women too are treated like second-
class citizens and denied basic human rights. Domestic violence, that 
evil tactic of cowardly men, is not illegal in Iran. In October, a 
string of acid attacks injured women deemed ``badly veiled.'' Again, 
the people rose up. But these protestors were also met with tear gas, 
violent beatings, and arrests.
  But there's a remarkable thing, Mr. Speaker, about repression: it 
cannot suppress the innate desire in all of us to be free.
  In 2009, we saw the people of Iran fight against tyranny. Thousands 
of Iranians marched defiantly in the streets, protesting the fraudulent 
election of Ahmadinejad.
  In response, police on motorbikes ran over protestors, fired tear 
gas, beat them with batons, tortured them, shot them. Over a hundred 
protestors were murdered in the 2 weeks that followed the election.
  Today, President Rouhani would like us to believe that life in Iran 
has changed. The truth is that life in Iran has not changed. President 
Rouhani's words are empty lies.
  The Iranians are freedom-loving people, and they deserve the basic 
human rights. Today, with this bill we tell the people of Iran that 
they do not fight alone. That we stand together with them against the 
Supreme Leader and all his cronies. And one day, hopefully soon, we 
will stand with them in Tehran to celebrate the downfall of the Iranian 
regime.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________