I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8586 

To impose sanctions on the judges, prosecutors and investigators of the 

Islamic Republic of Iran’s Revolutionary Courts. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 31, 2024 

Mrs. KIM of California (for herself, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. LAWLER, and Mr. 

TRONE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Financial Services, 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 impose sanctions on the judges, prosecutors and investigators of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Revolutionary 

Courts. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Targeting Oppressive 

5 Officers to Mitigate Abuse in the Iranian Judiciary Act’’or 

6 the ‘‘TOOMAJ Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Torture is deeply contrary to both the laws 

2 and ethical values of the United States, as well as 

3 to international norms. This universal denouncement 

4 of torture finds its reflection in several domains: 

5 through the U.S. criminal code, specifically 18 

6 U.S.C. §§ 2340–2340A; in International treaties, 

7 highlighted by the United Nations Convention 

8 Against Torture (CAT); within customary Inter9 national law; across centuries of the Anglo-American 

10 legal tradition; and in the longstanding policies of 

11 the United States. 

12 (2) Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of 

13 Human Rights guarantees the right to life, liberty, 

14 and security of person. Article 9 of such Declaration 

15 prohibits arbitrary arrests or detentions and Article 

16 18 of such Declaration guarantees the right to free17 dom of thought, conscience, and religion. 

18 (3) As a member state of the United Nations 

19 and other international institutions, the Islamic Re20 public of Iran is bound by international commit21 ments concerning human rights and the rule of law. 

22 Nevertheless, the Islamic Republic of Iran has sys23 tematically and consistently curtailed the ability of 

24 Iranian citizens to exercise fundamental freedoms 

25 without fear of retribution. 


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1 (4) The judicial system of the Islamic Republic 

2 of Iran consists of a Chief Justice, who is respon3 sible for overseeing court administration, and several 

4 classes of courts, including Islamic Revolutionary 

5 Courts, which are tasked with trying prisoners ac6 cused of subverting the Islamic Republic. The trials 

7 of Iranian political prisoners and protestors typically 

8 are held before judges of these Islamic Revolutionary 

9 Courts. 

10 (5) Unlike an adversarial system, the Islamic 

11 Republic’s judicial model is inquisitorial. The in12 quisitorial system gives judges a significant role in 

13 deciding what evidence will be considered, whether 

14 the accused can access legal counsel or a fair trial, 

15 and the outcome of a case. 

16 (6) The Islamic Revolutionary Courts oversee 

17 cases involving political crimes, and employ well-doc18 umented practices that deny fairness and subvert 

19 justice. This includes denying access to counsel, re20 fusing to disclose the nature of charges, using tor21 ture and sexual violence to extract confessions, and 

22 using coerced confessions in proceedings, among oth23 ers. 

24 (7) On September 16, 2022, a 22-year-old 

25 woman named Jina Mahsa Amini, died in the detenVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8586.IH H8586

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1 tion of the Morality Police after being beaten and 

2 detained for allegedly transgressing the Islamic Re3 public’s morality laws concerning women’s dress. 

4 This tragic incident triggered widespread anti-gen5 der apartheid, pro-democracy protests across all of 

6 Iran, which have become known globally as the 

7 ‘‘Woman Life Freedom’’ movement. 

8 (8) In the course of the protests, the Iranian 

9 security forces’ violent crackdown included mass ar10 rests, well-documented beating of protestors, stifling 

11 internet access, and shooting protestors with live 

12 ammunition. Weeks into the protests, Iranian secu13 rity forces had reportedly killed, blinded, or injured 

14 hundreds of civilian protestors, including women and 

15 children. 

16 (9) By November 2022, reports were ongoing 

17 and confirmed that the Islamic Republic had com18 menced an intensive crackdown on protestors, char19 acterized by crimes against humanity, including 

20 mass imprisonment of tens of thousands of civilians, 

21 torture, gender and sexual violence, and heightened 

22 persecution of ethnic and religious minorities. 

23 (10) On December 12, 2022, Majid Reza 

24 Rahnavard became the first publicly executed Ira25 nian for charges stemming from his alleged involveVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8586.IH H8586

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1 ment in the protests. In the time since, many others 

2 have been executed, and many more have been de3 tained, tortured and killed in secret, and their fami4 lies have been threatened. 

5 (11) As a result of the intense crackdown, the 

6 UN Human Rights Council established the Inde7 pendent International Fact-Finding Mission on the 

8 Islamic Republic of Iran (FFMI) on November 24, 

9 2022. The FFMI mandate was to investigate alleged 

10 human rights violations in Iran in connection with 

11 the protests that began in Iran on September 16, 

12 2022, especially with respect to women and children. 

13 (12) Despite the efforts of the FFMI to engage 

14 with the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Republic did 

15 not grant the FFMI access to the country, nor re16 spond to calls for meetings. The FFMI investigation 

17 resulted in over 27,000 evidence items. It conducted 

18 a total of 134 in-depth interviews with victims and 

19 witnesses, including 49 women, and 85 men, both in20 side and outside the country, and gathered evidence 

21 and analysis from experts on digital and medical 

22 forensics, and domestic and international law, 

23 among others. 

24 (13) On March 18, 2024, the FFMI issued its 

25 report following its investigation, and found that IsVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8586.IH H8586

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1 lamic Republic authorities were responsible for egre2 gious human rights violations in connection with the 

3 Jina Mahsa Amini protests. The FFMI confirmed 

4 the use of unnecessary and disproportionate force on 

5 peaceful protests, resulting in unlawful killings and 

6 injuries of protesters. The FFMI found that at least 

7 nine young men were arbitrarily executed, following 

8 sham proceedings before Islamic Revolutionary 

9 Courts that disregarded basic fair trial and due 

10 process guarantees, creating terror among other 

11 protestors. The FFMI further found that by Janu12 ary 2024, the Iranian Regime’s Islamic Revolu13 tionary Courts had issued at least 26 death sen14 tences against protestors. 

15 (14) With respect to the Islamic Revolutionary 

16 Courts, the FFMI found that trials involved system17 atic violations of due process. Most protestors were 

18 brought before Revolutionary Courts, on vague 

19 charges of ‘‘corruption on earth’’ or ‘‘waging war 

20 against God’’ in relation to protected conduct or 

21 speech. They were denied some of the basic proce22 dural elements of due process. Many were denied ac23 cess to counsel, not able to access their case files, or 

24 receive copies of their judgments. The FFMI found 

25 that Islamic Revolutionary Courts showed clear bias 


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1 against protesters, and systematically dismissed 

2 complaints of rape, torture and ill-treatment. 

3 (15) Toomaj Salehi is an Iranian dissident and 

4 rap artist who criticizes the Islamic Republic’s op5 pressive policies through his music. He is widely re6 vered inside Iran for directly challenging the Islamic 

7 Republic’s denial of human rights. He was arrested 

8 in October 2022, in the aftermath of the Woman 

9 Life Freedom protests, and has endured intense psy10 chological and physical torture, including prolonged 

11 solitary confinement. In July 2023, he was sen12 tenced to over six years of prison for ‘‘corruption on 

13 Earth,’’ a crime manufactured by the Islamic Re14 gime to silence dissent. On November 18, 2023, 

15 Salehi was released from prison on bail. A few days 

16 later, he issued a public statement revealing the 

17 depth of torture he had endured at the hands of the 

18 Islamic Republic. On November 30, 2023, Toomaj 

19 Salehi was re-arrested on charges of publishing false 

20 information and disturbing public opinion. On April 

21 24, 2024, despite a remand from the Islamic Repub22 lic’s Supreme Court, the Islamic Revolutionary 

23 Court overseeing Salehi’s case declared the decision 

24 of the Supreme Court to be ‘‘advisory’’ and issued 

25 a death sentence to Toomaj Salehi. 


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1 (16) Examples of victims of the Islamic Revolu2 tionary Courts are plentiful. Vahid Afkari is a 37- 

3 year-old Iranian who was arrested along with his 

4 brothers Habib and Navid Afkari during the 2018 

5 Iranian protests. All three were tortured into 

6 confessing to killing a security officer. On September 

7 12, 2020, Navid Afkari was executed. Vahid Afkari 

8 remains imprisoned, and has been held in solitary 

9 confinement for over 1,000 days. He is denied med10 ical treatment for the injuries he has sustained from 

11 torture and suicide attempts. 

12 (17) Narges Mohammadi is an Iranian human 

13 rights Activist, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize recipi14 ent, and the vice president of the Defenders of 

15 Human Rights Center, a human rights organization 

16 based in Tehran. She has been repeatedly prosecuted 

17 by the Islamic Republic due to her outspoken posi18 tions against the government’s human rights abuses. 

19 She is currently imprisoned, and routinely subjected 

20 to prolonged solitary confinement, psychological tor21 ture, and physical abuse. 

22 (18) Fatemeh Sepehri is an Iranian political 

23 and women’s rights activist and a political prisoner. 

24 She is a signatory of the ‘‘Statement of 14 Political 

25 Activists,’’ a series of open letters that called for the 


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1 resignation of the Supreme Leader of Iran, the abo2 lition of the Islamic Republic, and the establishment 

3 of a secular democracy. She was arrested on Sep4 tember 21, 2022 during the Woman Life Freedom 

5 protests, and is imprisoned in solitary confinement. 

6 (19) Saman Yasin, a well-known and acclaimed 

7 27-year-old Kurdish artist and rapper, has been a 

8 vocal critic of the Islamic Republic and openly sup9 ported Woman Life Freedom protestors in his social 

10 media. In November 2022, he received a death sen11 tence, which he appealed. Although the Supreme 

12 Court of the Islamic Republic overturned his death 

13 sentence, Yasin has been denied a fair trial, and suf14 fers ongoing psychological and physical torture while 

15 imprisoned, including involuntary admissions to psy16 chiatric hospitals. His fate is part of a larger pat17 tern of torture tactics against political prisoners, in18 cluding injections and the administration of uniden19 tified pills. As a result of his severe and enduring 

20 torture, on February 27, 2024, Saman Yasin wrote 

21 an open letter to the head of the Islamic Republic’s 

22 judiciary, in which he demanded his own execution. 

23 (20) Nika Shakarami was a 16-year-old Iranian 

24 girl who actively participated in nonviolent protests 

25 after the killing of Jina Mahsa Amini. She disVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8586.IH H8586

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1 appeared during the Woman Life Freedom protests, 

2 and her family found her shattered body in a mor3 tuary ten days after her disappearance. Despite Is4 lamic Republic authorities denying any wrongdoing, 

5 a subsequent leaked internal Islamic Revolutionary 

6 Guard Corps document revealed that she had been 

7 taken into custody, bound in a van, sexually as8 saulted by one of three men, and spent her final 

9 minutes being fatally beaten by all three men. 

10 (21) Nika Shakarami, along with Sarina 

11 Esmailzadeh and Hadis Najafi, two other young 

12 women murdered by the Islamic Republic, became 

13 symbols of the ongoing protests in Iran. Despite at14 tempts by authorities to suppress information about 

15 Shakarami’s death, international media coverage 

16 and social media tributes highlighted her story, 

17 sparking outrage and further fueling the protests. 

18 Nika Shakarami is a testament to the untold num19 ber of protestors that never had the prospect of ap20 pearing before an Islamic Revolutionary Court. Had 

21 she survived; she likely would have been taken before 

22 an Islamic Revolutionary Court, based on manufac23 tured charges, for a trial that would offer no due 

24 process, insufficient access to legal counsel, and false 

25 confessions based on torture. 


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1 (22) There are also numerous reported cases of 

2 American citizens and U.S. Legal Permanent Resi3 dents being arbitrarily detained, subjected to sham 

4 trials, and unjustly imprisoned by Iranian Revolu5 tionary courts on baseless charges. 

6 (23) Examples of such cases include Jason 

7 Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist who was im8 prisoned for over 500 days on charges of espionage, 

9 Siamak Namazi, an Iranian American businessman 

10 who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges 

11 of spying and collaborating with a hostile govern12 ment, and Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine and 

13 an Iranian American who accused of espionage and 

14 was sentenced to death, but the sentence was later 

15 overturned and then retried and sentenced to 10 

16 years in prison. 

17 SEC. 3. SANCTIONS ON JUDGES OF THE ISLAMIC REVOLU18 TIONARY COURTS. 

19 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that— 

21 (1) the United States shall stand with and sup22 port the people of Iran in their demand for funda23 mental human rights and an end to gender apart24 heid. 


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1 (2) the United States shall continue to hold the 

2 Islamic Republic of Iran, and all its branches of gov3 ernment, including the judiciary and its judges, ac4 countable for abuses of human rights, crimes against 

5 humanity, corruption, and the export of terrorism; 

6 and 

7 (3) the Islamic Republic must immediately end 

8 its gross violations of internationally recognized 

9 human rights. 

10 (b) IN GENERAL.— 

11 (1) DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—Not later 

12 than 90 days and annually thereafter after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall de14 termine whether the sanctions listed in paragraph 

15 (2) apply with respect to each foreign person de16 scribed in subsection (c), and impose all applicable 

17 such sanctions with respect to each such foreign per18 son and entity. 

19 (2) SANCTIONS LISTED.—The sanctions listed 

20 in this paragraph are the following: 

21 (A) Sanctions described in section 105(c) 

22 of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Account23 ability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

24 8514(c)). 


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1 (B) Sanctions applicable with respect to a 

2 person pursuant to Executive Order 13553 (50 

3 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property 

4 of certain persons with respect to serious 

5 human rights abuses by the Government of 

6 Iran). 

7 (C) Sanctions applicable with respect to a 

8 person pursuant to Executive Order 13224 (50 

9 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property 

10 and prohibiting transactions with persons who 

11 commit, threaten to commit, or support ter12 rorism). 

13 (D) Sanctions applicable with respect to a 

14 person pursuant to Executive Order 13818 (re15 lating to blocking the property of persons in16 volved in serious human rights abuse or corrup17 tion). 

18 (E) Sanctions applicable with respect to a 

19 person pursuant to Executive Order 13876 (re20 lating to imposing sanctions with respect to 

21 Iran). 

22 (F) Penalties and visa ban applicable with 

23 respect to a person pursuant to section 7031(c) 

24 of the Department of State, Foreign OperVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Aug 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8586.IH H8586

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1 ations, and Related Programs Appropriations 

2 Act, 2021. 

3 (3) FORM OF DETERMINATION.—The deter4 mination required by paragraph (1) shall be pro5 vided in an unclassified form but may contain a clas6 sified annex provided separately containing addi7 tional contextual information pertaining to justifica8 tion for the issuance of any waiver issued, as de9 scribed in paragraph (1)(C)(ii). The unclassified por10 tion of such determination shall be made available 

11 on a publicly available internet website of the Fed12 eral Government. 

13 (c) FOREIGN PERSONS DESCRIBED.—The foreign 

14 persons described in this subsection are the following: 

15 (1) Adjudicators and investigators including 

16 judges, prosecutors and investigators of the various 

17 branches of the Islamic Revolutionary Courts in18 volved in overseeing, committing, or adjudicating 

19 based on inhumane treatment of prisoners of con20 scious including political prisoners from detention to 

21 sentencing. 

22 (d) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

24 receiving a request from the chairman and ranking 

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1 mittees with respect to whether a person meets the 

2 criteria of a person described in subsection (c), the 

3 President shall— 

4 (A) determine if the person meets such cri5 teria; and 

6 (B) submit a classified or unclassified re7 port to such chairman and ranking member 

8 with respect to such determination that includes 

9 a statement of whether or not the President im10 posed or intends to impose sanctions with re11 spect to the person pursuant to this section. 

12 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘ap14 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

15 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

16 the House of Representatives; and 

17 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

18 the Senate. 

19 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

20 It is the policy of the United States that— 

21 (1) the legal and bureaucratic apparatus of the 

22 Islamic Revolutionary Courts facilitates the Islamic 

23 Republic in shielding human rights abuses from 

24 scrutiny; 


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1 (2) judgments, sentences and other official acts 

2 that emanate from the Islamic Revolutionary Courts 

3 should not be afforded judicial deference by the 

4 international legal community and may serve as evi5 dence of torture and human rights violations; 

6 (3) the Islamic Republic of Iran should imme7 diately stop violating the human rights of political 

8 prisoners or any person with a proceeding before the 

9 Islamic Revolutionary Courts, including by— 

10 (A) torture; 

11 (B) assault; 

12 (C) denial of access to health care; and 

13 (D) denial of a fair trial; and 

14 (4) the Islamic Republic of Iran should imme15 diately release all political prisoners. 

16 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) POLITICAL PRISONER.—The term ‘‘political 

19 prisoner’’ means a person who has been detained or 

20 imprisoned on politically motivated grounds. 

21 SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 

22 If any provision of this Act, or the application of such 

23 provision to any person or circumstance, is found to be 

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1 tion of that provision to other persons or circumstances, 

2 shall not be affected. 

Æ 


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