[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5855 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5855
To enshrine the legacy of Jamal Khashoggi by protecting activists and
journalists, codifying the Khashoggi Ban, and introducing the Khashoggi
Amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 29, 2023
Mr. Schiff (for himself, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Connolly, and Mr. McGovern)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enshrine the legacy of Jamal Khashoggi by protecting activists and
journalists, codifying the Khashoggi Ban, and introducing the Khashoggi
Amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 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 ``Jamal Khashoggi Protection of
Activists and Press Freedom Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) A free and independent press is necessary for citizens
to make informed choices on issues of public concern, to have
the information necessary to recognize truth from falsehood,
and to hold the powerful and Government officials to account.
(2) As reflected in the First Amendment to the United
States Constitution, a free press is essential to safeguard
democracy.
(3) The suppression of the press is historically associated
with authoritarian rule.
(4) As provided in article 19 of the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, all people enjoy the
right to freedom of opinion and expression, which includes the
right to seek, receive, and impart information.
(5) An informed public is fundamental to a free society.
(6) In accordance with a long United States history of
championing freedom of the press around the globe, the Daniel
Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 was enacted into law
(Public Law 111-166).
(7) Since the passage of the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the
Press Act of 2009, the global environment for a free and
independent press has become more repressive.
(8) According to data from the Committee to Protect
Journalists, at least 363 journalists were imprisoned globally
in relation to their work as of December 1, 2022, a new global
high that overtakes the prior year's record by 20 percent and
marks another grim milestone in a deteriorating media
landscapes. The Committee to Protect Journalists also reported
there was complete impunity in nearly 80 percent of the 263
cases of journalists murdered globally between September 1,
2012, to August 31, 2022.
(9) According to Freedom House's publication ``Freedom in
the World 2023'', global freedom has declined for 17
consecutive years, and over the past year, media freedom came
under pressure in at least 157 countries and territories
assessed in the report. Freedom House data also show that
freedom of expression, for the media and individuals, has
declined more than any other civil liberty over the last 17
years, and infringement on free expression is one of the
biggest drivers of democratic backsliding globally.
(10) According to data from Reporters Without Borders, 55
journalists were killed in 2022, an almost 15 percent increase
over the prior year, and since 2020, more journalists have been
deliberately targeted and killed in countries considered ``at
peace'' than in conflict zones.
(11) In 2018, the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the
hands of Saudi intelligence officers acting on explicit orders
of the Saudi Government underscored the extent to which those
in power will go to stifle the freedom of expression, silence
their critics, and eliminate the threat they believe
independent journalists pose to their rule. The Office of the
Director of National Intelligence released a partial,
declassified intelligence report on February 26, 2021, which
concluded that Khashoggi's murder was approved by Saudi Crown
Prince Mohamed bin Salman. However, impunity continues for the
Saudi officials involved in this crime.
(12) In March 2022, a Turkish judge, likely at the behest
of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, issued a ruling that closed
the criminal trial of the perpetrators in Turkiye (Turkey) and
transferred it to Saudi Arabia, where the case against the
perpetrators was promptly dismissed, foreclosing the prospect
that they will ever be held accountable.
(13) In an effort to combat attacks against journalists and
others exercising their right to freedom of expression,
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in February 2021 announced
the Khashoggi Ban, a new policy allowing the Department of
State to impose visa restrictions on individuals who, acting on
behalf of a foreign government, are believed to have been
directly engaged in serious, extraterritorial counter-dissident
activities, including activities that suppress, harass,
surveil, threaten, or harm journal1ists, activists, or other
persons perceived to be dissidents for their work.
SEC. 3. KHASHOGGI BAN GROUND OF INADMISSIBILITY.
Section 212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(H) Khashoggi ban.--
``(i) In general.--An alien who is
determined by the Secretary of State, or the
Secretary of Homeland Security in consultation
with the Secretary of State, to be engaged in
counter-dissident activities is inadmissible.
``(ii) Discretionary ban.--Any alien who is
an immediate family member of an alien who is
inadmissible under clause (i) may be
inadmissible, as determined by the Secretary of
State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, in
consultation with the Secretary of State.
``(iii) Notification of determinations.--If
an alien is determined to be inadmissible under
clause (i) or (ii), the Secretary of State, or
the Secretary of Homeland Security in
consultation with the Secretary of State, shall
notify Congress, and may also make a public
statement, identifying the alien and the
reasons for the determination.
``(iv) Clarification.--For the purposes of
clause (iii), the records of the Department of
State and of diplomatic and consular offices of
the United States pertaining to the issuance or
refusal of visas or permits to enter the United
States shall not be considered confidential.
``(v) National interest waiver.--The
Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in consultation with the Secretary of
State, may waive the requirements of this
subparagraph, or any part thereof, if such
Secretary determines that such a waiver--
``(I) is necessary to permit the
United States to comply with the
Agreement Regarding the Headquarters of
the United Nations, signed at Lake
Success June 26, 1947, and entered into
force November 21, 1947 (TIAS 1676), or
any other applicable international
obligation of the United States; or
``(II) is in the national interest
of the United States.
Such waiver shall be made in writing to
Congress and shall include a brief description
of the how such waiver relates to a reason
described in subclause (I) or (II).
``(vi) Definition.--In this subparagraph,
the term `counter-dissident activities' means
actions taken by a foreign government or an
individual who operates subject to the
direction or control of a foreign government or
official, to silence, suppress, harass,
surveil, threaten, or harm journalists,
activists, or other persons perceived to be
dissidents by the foreign government, which may
include extrajudicial executions, physical
attacks, digital stalking, abductions, illegal
deportations, or other forms of aggression,
threats, or intimidation toward the targeted
individual or close associates or family
members of that individual.''.
SEC. 4. KHASHOGGI AMENDMENT TO THE FOREIGN SOVEREIGN IMMUNITIES ACT.
(a) General Exceptions to the Jurisdictional Immunity of a Foreign
State.--Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period and inserting
``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) in which money damages are sought against a foreign
state for the personal injury or death of a United States
person (as such term is defined in section 1637(d)(10) of the
Carl Levin and Howard P. `Buck' McKeon National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (50 U.S.C. 1708(d)(10)),
which personal injury or death occurred--
``(A) outside of the territory of that foreign
state on or after October 2, 2017; and
``(B) as a direct result of actions taken outside
of the territory of that foreign state by a foreign
state or an individual who operated subject to the
direction or control of a foreign state or official, to
silence, suppress, harass, surveil, threaten, or harm
the United States person because of that person's role
as a journalist, activist, or other perceived
dissidence.''.
(b) Exceptions to the Immunity From Attachment or Execution.--
Section 1610 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking
``section 1605(a)(2), (3), or (5)'' and inserting ``paragraph (2), (3),
(5), or (7) of section 1605(a)''.
SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
(a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, and every year thereafter for three years, the Secretary of
State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, and
the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of
the Senate, a report, including a classified annex if necessary,
describing, for the previous year, each act of serious counter-
dissident activity committed by--
(1) each individual determined to be inadmissible under
section 212(a)(3)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1182); and
(2) each individual with respect to whom a waiver was
granted under clause (v) of such section 212(a)(3)(H) and a
justification for each such waiver.
(b) Posting of Report.--The Secretary of State shall make the
unclassified version of the report required under subsection (a)
publicly available on the website of the Department of State.
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act or an amendment made by this Act may be
construed to alter or affect any sanction imposed with respect to
violations of human rights under any other provision of law or to limit
the authority of the President to impose sanctions with respect to
violations of human rights.
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