[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13059]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



         13 JEWISH CITIZENS ARRESTED SOLELY BECAUSE OF RELIGION

  (Mr. SHERMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, in March of 1999, Iran arrested 13 of its 
Jewish citizens solely because of their religion. The trial has just 
concluded, and it was a show trial worthy of Joseph Stalin: no 
evidence, but confessions, not showing the guilt of the accused, but 
showing their justified fear.
  The prosecutor is also the judge, is also the jury. Of course no one 
is allowed to view the trial.

                              {time}  1015

  These men have been in prison, most of them, for a year and a half, 
and it is time for Iran to let them go. The charges against them are 
ridiculous, because in Iran's discriminatory society no one of the 
Jewish faith would be allowed near anything of national security 
significance. So certainly the CIA would not hire from this minority 
group in any search for spies.
  The verdict will be issued on Saturday. We in this House must take a 
stand. The agricultural appropriations bill comes up, and I will have 
an amendment to deny the use of funds to allow the importation of 
agricultural products from Iran and, thus, reinstitute the policy of 
Ronald Reagan to prevent those goods from coming in at this time.

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