[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3035 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3035
To require the President to make a determination with respect to the
application of sanctions with respect to certain officials of the
Government of Iran, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 28, 2023
Mr. Wilson of South Carolina (for himself and Mr. Hern) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the President to make a determination with respect to the
application of sanctions with respect to certain officials of the
Government of Iran, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Iran Human Rights and Accountability
Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In response to protests that broke out on November 15,
2019, the Government of Iran blocked almost all internet
traffic in Iran and used deadly force against nonviolent
protesters, killing approximately 1,500 persons, according to
the Department of State's 2019 Human Rights Report.
(2) The Government of Iran is regularly engaged in
widespread torture, extrajudicial killings, the prosecution of
journalists, the taking of political prisoners, severe
restrictions on the freedom of religion, and the severe
repression of women and religious minorities.
(3) The Government of Iran is involved in the unlawful
recruitment of child soldiers by government actors to support
the brutal Assad regime in Syria, according to the Department
of State's 2019 Human Rights Report. The Government of Iran is
also altering the demographic composition of Syria.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It shall be the policy of the United States to--
(1) support democracy and human rights in Iran, including
the robust exercise by Iranians of the rights to free speech
and assembly and where possible to support the free flow of
information into Iran and make it easier for Iranian citizens
to communicate with one another and with the outside world;
(2) hold the Government of Iran accountable for severe
human rights abuses against its own people and the peoples of
the Middle East, including the people of Syria, Iraq, Yemen,
and Lebanon; and
(3) condemn any and all attacks on protesters by the
Government of Iran or its sponsored militias.
SEC. 4. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS WITH
RESPECT TO CERTAIN OFFICIALS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN.
(a) Determination With Respect to the Imposition of Sanctions.--Not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
determination, including a detailed justification, of whether any
person listed in subsection (b) meets the criteria for--
(1) the application of sanctions with respect to a person
pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514); or
(2) the application of sanctions pursuant to Executive
Order 13553 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property
of certain persons with respect to serious human rights abuses
by the Government of Iran).
(b) Persons Listed.--The persons described in this subsection are
the following:
(1) Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, the Supreme Leader of Iran.
(2) Asghar Jahangir, the head of Iran's Prisons
Organization.
(3) Seyyed Alireza Avaie, Iran's Minister of Justice.
(4) Mansour Gholami, Iran's Minister of Science.
(5) Abbas Salehi, Iran's Minister of Culture.
(6) Hassan Hassanzadeh, Commander of the Tehran Mohammad
Rasoolallah Corps of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC).
(7) Mohammad Reza Yazdi, Commander of the Tehran Mohammad
Rasoolallah Corps of the IRGC.
(8) Amin Vaziri, Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran and assistant
supervisor of political prisoners in Evin prison.
(9) Heshmatollah Hayat Al-Ghayb, Tehran's Director-General
of Prisons.
(10) Allahkaram Azizi, Head of the Rajaie-Shahr prison in
Karaj, Iran.
(11) Mohammadmehdi Hajmohammadi, Head of Iran's prisons and
guidance prosecutor's office.
(12) Ali Hemmatian, IRGC interrogator.
(13) Masoud Safdari, IRGC interrogator.
SEC. 5. REPORT ON THE ESTIMATED NET WORTH AND KNOWN SOURCES OF INCOME
OF IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMANEI.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of National Intelligence,
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on
the estimated net worth and known sources of income, including income
from corrupt or illicit activities, of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamanei and his family members (including spouse, children,
siblings, and paternal and maternal cousins), including--
(1) assets, investments, other business interests, and
relevant beneficial ownership information; and
(2) shares in and ties to Iranian parastatal institutions
or bonyads, such as the Mostazafan Foundation and the Astan
Quds Razavi, and the total estimated value of the Mostazafan
Foundation and the Astan Quds Razavi.
(b) Form.--
(1) In general.--The report required by subsection (a)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a
classified annex if necessary.
(2) Public availability of information.--The unclassified
portion of such report shall be made available on a publicly
available internet website of the Federal Government.
SEC. 6. REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN IRAN IN RESPONSE TO THE
PROTESTS IN IRAN SINCE 2017.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that it is
imperative the United States Government should hold local Iranian law
enforcement forces, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
officials, and other Iranian security officials accountable for the
violent crackdown on protests in Iran since 2017, especially since
protests in Iran have become geographically widespread and not limited
solely to major urban centers.
(b) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that includes the following:
(1) A list, by province and city, of local Iranian law
enforcement forces, IRGC officials, and other Iranian security
officials responsible for the violent crackdown on protests in
Iran since 2017.
(2) A list of judges and judicial officials, by province
and city, responsible for gross violations of human rights in
Iran, including facilitating the unjust detainment of
protesters and depriving them of their right to free speech.
(3) A description of efforts by the United States to assist
Iranians to access the internet during periods in which the
Government of Iran has severely limited such access.
(c) Form.--
(1) In general.--The report required by subsection (b)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a
classified annex if necessary.
(2) Public availability of information.--The unclassified
portion of such report shall be made available on a publicly
available internet website of the Federal Government.
SEC. 7. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY COMMITTED
BY THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN AND ITS SPONSORED MILITIAS IN
SYRIA AND IRAQ.
(a) Determination.--The Secretary of State shall make a
determination with respect to each of the following:
(1) Whether Iran, Hezbollah, and Iranian-backed militias'
sectarian cleansing campaigns, especially in the Damascus
suburbs and particularly against the Sunni Muslim population of
Syria, can be considered systematic and widespread and
therefore constitute an offense described in section 1091(a) of
title 18, United States Code.
(2) Whether Iran and Iranian backed militias' use of
violence against peaceful protesters in Iraq in November 2019
and December 2019 constitutes a war crime (as such term is
defined in section 2441(c) of title 18, United States Code).
(3) Whether excessive use of violence by forces of the
Government of Iran against protesters in Iran in November 2019
constitutes an offense described in section 1091(a) of title
18, United States Code.
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit
to the appropriate congressional committees a report that
contains each determination made under subsection (a).
(2) Form.--
(A) In general.--The report required by paragraph
(1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may
contain a classified annex if necessary.
(B) Public availability of information.--The
unclassified portion of such report shall be made
available on a publicly available internet website of
the Federal Government.
SEC. 8. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
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