IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 111 

Calling on the Government of Iran to immediately release Saeed Abedini 

and all other individuals detained on account of their religious beliefs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2015 

Mr. PITTENGER (for himself, Mr. WALKER, Mr. VARGAS, and Ms. FRANKEL

of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on the Government of Iran to immediately release 

Saeed Abedini and all other individuals detained on account of their religious beliefs. 

Whereas, in September 2012, Saeed Abedini, a resident of 

the State of Idaho and a minority Christian with dual 

Iranian-United States citizenship, was arbitrarily detained in the Islamic Republic of Iran, held in solitary 

confinement, physically beaten, denied access to necessary medical treatment as a result of that abuse, and 

denied access to his lawyer until just before his trial; 

Whereas, in January 2013, an Iranian court accused Saeed 

Abedini of attempting to undermine the national security 

of Iran by gathering with fellow Christians in private 

homes; 


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•HRES 111 IH 

Whereas Saeed Abedini was tried in a non-public trial before 

a judge who had been sanctioned by the European Union 

for repeated violations of human rights, including issuing 

long prison sentences to peaceful protestors following the 

2009 election; 

Whereas, during the trial, Saeed Abedini and his Iranian attorney were barred from attending portions of the trial 

in which the prosecution provided and the judge received 

evidence through witness testimony; 

Whereas the Iranian court sentenced Saeed Abedini to 8 

years in prison; 

Whereas, in August 2013, the 36th branch of the Tehran appeals court denied Saeed Abedini’s appeal and affirmed 

his 8-year sentence; 

Whereas the Government of Iran continues to indefinitely imprison Saeed Abedini for peacefully exercising his faith; 

Whereas the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human 

Rights declares that every individual has ‘‘the right to 

freedom of thought, conscience and religion’’, which includes the ‘‘freedom to change his religion or belief, and 

freedom, either alone or in community with others and in 

public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in 

teaching, practice, worship and observance’’, and the 

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 

echoes that declaration; 

Whereas the International Covenant on Civil and Political 

Rights holds that every individual shall be free from arbitrary arrest and detention, and that every individual 

bears the right to have adequate time and facilities for 

the preparation of his defense and to be present during 

the duration of his trial; 


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•HRES 111 IH 

Whereas the International Covenant on Civil and Political 

Rights further guarantees every individual the right to a 

fair and public hearing by a competent, independent, and 

impartial tribunal; 

Whereas Iran is a member of the United Nations and a signatory to both the Universal Declaration of Human 

Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights without reservation; 

Whereas articles 13 and 23 through 27 of the Constitution 

of the Islamic Republic of Iran provide for freedom of expression, assembly, and association, as well as the freedom to practice one’s religion; 

Whereas Iran is a religiously diverse society and the United 

Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human 

Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran reports that religious minorities, including Nematullahi Sufi Muslims, 

Sunnis, Baha’is, and Christians, face human rights violations in Iran; 

Whereas, in recent years, there has been an increase in the 

number of incidents of Iranian authorities raiding religious services, detaining worshipers and religious leaders, 

and harassing and threatening minority religious members; 

Whereas the United Nations Special Rapporteur reports that 

Iranian intelligence officials are known to threaten Christian converts with arrest and apostasy charges if they do 

not return to Islam; 

Whereas the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary 

Detention found that Iran has arbitrarily detained Saeed 

Abedini in violation of its international human rights obligations and ordered his immediate release; and 


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•HRES 111 IH 

Whereas President Barack Obama has demonstrated his personal commitment to the case of Saeed Abedini by meeting with his family and has called on President Hassan 

Rouhani to demonstrate the commitment of Iran to individual human rights through the release of all prisoners 

of conscience: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes that freedom of religious belief 

3 and practice is a universal human right and a fun4 damental freedom of every individual, regardless of 

5 race, sex, country, creed, or nationality, and should 

6 never be arbitrarily abridged by any government; 

7 (2) recognizes that governments have a respon8 sibility to protect the fundamental rights of their 

9 citizens; and 

10 (3) calls on the Government of Iran to imme11 diately release Saeed Abedini and all other individ12 uals detained on account of their religious beliefs. 

Æ 


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