[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 4869-4870]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         FREE AMIR HEKMATI NOW

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Kildee) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to bring up the 
case of my constituent, a young man by the name of Amir Hekmati. He is 
an American citizen, born and raised in the United States, grew up in 
my home town of Flint, Michigan, and served in the United States Marine 
Corps. He is a brother; he is a son.
  Three and a half years ago, he traveled to Iran. His parents are of 
Iranian descent. He traveled to Iran to meet for the first time a 
grandmother that he had never seen, traveled under his own name, 
notified the government that he was going.
  After just a couple of weeks, he was apprehended, disappeared; and, 
after a few months later, it was revealed that he had been tried and 
convicted and sentenced to death.
  A young man, an American, traveling under his own name in Iran, who 
had served in the United States Marine Corps, was sentenced to death 
simply for being an American in Iran that had served this country. He 
is an innocent man, and he continues to languish in Evin Prison.
  I am here to make it clear that the Congress of the United States and 
the American people are watching the Iranian Government. If, in fact, 
Iran intends, as they purport to do, to try to take steps to join the 
international community, they cannot hold Americans like Amir Hekmati 
as political prisoners.
  Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, from John Lewis to 
Darrell Issa, have joined in the effort to raise awareness around Amir 
Hekmati's case. It is important that we never let this case fade into 
the woodwork.
  I think about Amir the same way that I would think about it if my own 
son were being held in a prison on the other side of the world, and I 
know that every other Member of Congress who has been engaged in this 
effort feels the same way. He is one of us; he is our son, and he needs 
to be reunited with his family.
  As we now are considering, I think, a really important moment where 
there have been negotiations to try to deal with Iran's nuclear 
aspirations--and personally, I support this direction, I support the 
direction the administration has gone in creating a framework through 
negotiation to make for a more peaceful world. It is very difficult

[[Page 4870]]

for many of us in Congress, especially those of us who represent those 
few Americans being held in an Iranian prison, to view this agreement 
other than through the lens of that experience.
  If Iran truly intends to try to rejoin the global community, they can 
make a very clear demonstration of their seriousness by releasing Amir 
Hekmati and the other Americans that they hold. We all can play a role 
in making that happen. I encourage everybody out there--Members of 
Congress, people who want to become engaged--to get to social media. 
Use #freeamir or #freeamirnow.
  We know that the Iranian Government does pay attention to what the 
American people think--the Iranian citizens certainly do--and we know 
that we have to keep the pressure on right now. It is, as I said, very 
difficult for many of us who support the direction that this 
administration has taken these negotiations and really hope that it 
bears fruit, really hope that it creates an agreement that makes the 
world--and particularly that region--safer.
  We can only really accept Iran as a member of the global community 
not just by entering into this agreement, but by them joining the world 
community by not being a nation that can take a young man who served 
his country, who grew up here, was the captain of his high school 
hockey team, simply wanted to go to see the country that his parents 
were born in, and to visit the grandmother that he had never met. To 
hold him as a political prisoner, as a chip in a geopolitical struggle, 
is beyond the pale; and it is something that can't be accepted.
  Please, my friends, my colleagues, join me in continuing to raise 
your voices to make sure that not one day passes--especially during 
this period where we are considering this potentially historic 
agreement--not one day passes where Amir Hekmati, Jason Rezaian, Pastor 
Abedini, Mr. Levinson, that their cases, their names, are never 
forgotten.

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