[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 112 (Tuesday, July 12, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S5009]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 529--CALLING UPON THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ISLAMIC 
  REPUBLIC OF IRAN TO RELEASE IRANIAN-AMERICANS SIAMAK NAMAZI AND HIS 
                         FATHER, BAQUER NAMAZI

  Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mr. Hatch) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 529

       Whereas dual citizen of the United States and Iran Siamak 
     Namazi studied international relations at Tufts University 
     and urban planning at Rutgers University;
       Whereas Siamak Namazi was named as a Young Global Leader by 
     the World Economic Forum in 2007;
       Whereas Siamak Namazi was a former Public Policy Fellow at 
     the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, was a 
     business consultant, and most recently worked in the 
     petroleum industry for a company based in Dubai, United Arab 
     Emirates;
       Whereas Siamak Namazi traveled from Dubai to Tehran to 
     visit relatives in July 2015;
       Whereas Siamak Namazi was prohibited from leaving Iran in 
     mid-July 2015;
       Whereas Siamak Namazi was interrogated for 3 months before 
     he was detained on October 15, 2015, without any charges;
       Whereas Amnesty International has stated that detainees and 
     prisoners in Iran have reported ``acts of torture and other 
     ill-treatment, particularly during primary investigations 
     mainly to force `confessions' or gather other incriminatory 
     evidence'' and ``were denied adequate medical care; in some 
     cases, the authorities withheld prescribed medications to 
     punish prisoners'';
       Whereas on March 14, 2016, the United Nations Special 
     Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic 
     Republic of Iran stated that serious human rights abuses 
     continue to be reported in Iran including ``an alarming surge 
     in the rate of unlawful executions in the country and ongoing 
     arbitrary arrests, detention and prosecution of individuals 
     for the exercise of their fundamental rights'' and at least 
     966 persons were executed in Iran in 2015, which is the 
     highest rate in more than 20 years;
       Whereas Siamak Namazi remains under arrest in Evin Prison 
     even though no charges have been filed against him;
       Whereas dual citizen of the United States and Iran, Baquer 
     Namazi, who is the father of Siamak Namazi was detained on 
     February 22, 2016, and is also being held in Evin Prison;
       Whereas Baquer Namazi worked for UNICEF in New York and 
     served as the UNICEF Representative to Somalia, Kenya, and 
     Egypt;
       Whereas Baquer Namazi is a recognized leader of 
     humanitarian causes, especially poverty eradication, through 
     his United Nations work and his post-retirement civil society 
     activities;
       Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry stated on February 
     25, 2016, in response to a question about the detention of 
     Siamak Namazi, ``I am very familiar with this and I am 
     engaged on it specifically''; and
       Whereas on January 16, 2016, the Government of the Islamic 
     Republic of Iran released United States citizens Jason 
     Rezaian of California, Saeed Abedini of Idaho, Amir Mirzaei 
     Hekmati of Michigan, Matthew Trevithick of Massachusetts, and 
     Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) calls upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of 
     Iran to unconditionally release Siamak and Baquer Namazi 
     immediately;
       (2) urges the Secretary of State, the allies of the United 
     States, and the United Nations to raise the cases of Siamak 
     and Baquer Namazi with officials of the Government of the 
     Islamic Republic of Iran at every opportunity and undertake 
     efforts to secure their immediate release;
       (3) encourages the President to utilize appropriate 
     measures against the Government of the Islamic Republic of 
     Iran if Siamak and Baquer Namazi are not released; and
       (4) expresses sympathy to the family of Siamak and Baquer 
     Namazi for their anguish and expresses hope that their ordeal 
     can be brought to an end in the near future.

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