II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2365 

To impose additional sanctions with respect to serious human rights abuses 

by the Government of Iran, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 30, 2018 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. NELSON, and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To impose additional sanctions with respect to serious human 

rights abuses by the Government of Iran, and for other 

purposes. 

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 ‘‘Iran Human Rights 

5 and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. UNITED STATES POLICY ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLA7 TIONS BY THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Iran is a member of the United Nations, 

2 voted for the Universal Declaration of Human 

3 Rights, and is a signatory to the International Cov4 enant on Civil and Political Rights, among other 

5 international human rights treaties. 

6 (2) In violation of these and other international 

7 obligations, Iranian regime officials continue to vio8 late the fundamental human rights of the people of 

9 Iran. 

10 (3) The Iranian regime persecutes ethnic and 

11 religious minority groups, such as the Baha’is, 

12 Christians, and Sufi, Sunni, and dissenting Shi’a 

13 Muslims (such as imprisoned Ayatollah Hossein 

14 Kazemeyni Boroujerdi), through harassment, ar15 rests, and imprisonment, during which detainees 

16 have routinely been beaten, tortured, and killed. 

17 (4) The 2016 Department of State Human 

18 Rights Report on Iran noted ‘‘severe restrictions on 

19 civil liberties, including the freedoms of assembly, 

20 association, speech, religion, and press. Other 

21 human rights problems included abuse of due proc22 ess combined with use of capital punishment for 

23 crimes that do not meet the requirements of due 

24 process, as well as cruel, inhuman, or degrading 

25 treatment or punishment; and disregard for the 


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1 physical integrity of persons, whom authorities arbi2 trarily and unlawfully detained, tortured, or killed.’’. 

3 (5) Over a 4-month period in 1988, the Iranian 

4 regime carried out the barbaric mass executions of 

5 thousands of political prisoners. 

6 (6) In 1999, the Iranian regime brutally sup7 pressed a student revolt that was one of the largest 

8 mass uprisings up until that point in Iran since 

9 1979. 

10 (7) Following voting irregularities that resulted 

11 in the 2009 election of President Mahmoud 

12 Ahmadinejad, the Iranian regime brutally sup13 pressed peaceful political dissent from wide segments 

14 of civil society during the Green Revolution in a cyn15 ical attempt to retain its undemocratic grip on 

16 power. 

17 (8) Since February 2011 the leaders of Iran’s 

18 Green Movement, former Prime Minister Mir 

19 Hossein Mousavi, his wife Dr. Zahra Rahnavard, 

20 and former Speaker of the Majles (parliament) 

21 Mehdi Karroubi, have lived under strict house ar22 rest, ordered by Iran’s Supreme National Security 

23 Council. 

24 (9) In response to anti-government demonstra25 tions by citizens of Iran that began in the city of 


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1 Mashhad on December 28, 2017, and rapidly spread 

2 throughout urban and rural populations across Iran 

3 in the following weeks, the Iranian regime arrested 

4 many hundreds of Iranians and killed dozens more. 

5 (10) The Iranian regime, in addition to using 

6 lethal force and widespread detentions, shut down 

7 mobile Internet access and worked to block access to 

8 social media applications, including Telegram, 

9 Instagram, and Twitter, that citizens of Iran used to 

10 share information and to organize and publicize the 

11 protests. 

12 (11) In those demonstrations, which constitute 

13 the most significant anti-government demonstrations 

14 in Iran since June 2009, citizens of Iran protested 

15 against the system of entrenched corruption and im16 poverishment in Iran, as well as the Iranian regime’s 

17 foreign policy of supporting terrorism. 

18 (12) Senior governmental, military, and public 

19 security officials in Iran have continued ordering, 

20 controlling, and committing egregious human rights 

21 violations and abuses that, in many cases, represent 

22 official policies of the Iranian regime. 

23 (13) The 2016 Department of State Human 

24 Rights Report on Iran noted, ‘‘According to the 

25 press, NGOs, and the testimony of former prisoners, 


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1 authorities often held political prisoners in solitary 

2 confinement for extended periods, denying them due 

3 process and access to legal representation. Political 

4 prisoners were also at greater risk of torture and 

5 abuse in detention and often mixed with the general 

6 prison population despite the political crimes bill 

7 stipulation that they have their own facilities.’’. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

9 Congress that the United States should— 

10 (1) deny the Government of Iran the ability to 

11 continue to oppress the people of Iran and to use vi12 olence and executions to silence pro-democracy 

13 protestors; 

14 (2) support efforts made by the people of Iran 

15 to promote the establishment of basic freedoms that 

16 build the foundation for the emergence of a freely 

17 elected, open, non-corrupt, and democratic political 

18 system; and 

19 (3) help the people of Iran produce, access, and 

20 share information freely and safely via the Internet 

21 and other media. 

22 (c) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It shall be the policy 

23 of the United States to stand with the people of Iran who 

24 seek the opportunity to freely elect a government of their 

25 choosing, and increase the utilization of all available auVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jan 31, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2365.IS S2365

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1 thorities to impose sanctions on officials of the Govern2 ment of Iran and other individuals responsible for serious 

3 human rights abuses. 

4 SEC. 3. DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO IMPOSITION 

5 OF SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN PERSONS RE6 SPONSIBLE FOR OR COMPLICIT IN HUMAN 

7 RIGHTS ABUSES, ENGAGING IN CENSORSHIP, 

8 ENGAGING IN THE DIVERSION OF GOODS IN9 TENDED FOR THE PEOPLE OF IRAN, OR EN10 GAGING IN CORRUPTION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 

13 (or more frequently if the President determines it appro14 priate based on new information received by the Presi15 dent) for the following 4 years, the President shall submit 

16 to the appropriate congressional committees a report con17 taining a determination of whether any senior officials of 

18 the Government of Iran or other Iranian persons meet the 

19 criteria described in— 

20 (1) section 105(b), 105A(b), 105B(b), or 

21 105C(b) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Ac22 countability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

23 8514(b), 8514a(b), 8514b(b), or 8514c(b)) or sec24 tion 105D(b) of such Act (as added by section 5 of 

25 this Act); or 


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1 (2) paragraph (3) or (4) of section 1263(a) of 

2 the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability 

3 Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114–328; 

4 22 U.S.C. 2656 note). 

5 (b) FORM OF REPORT; PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

6 (1) FORM.—Each report required by subsection 

7 (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 

8 contain a classified annex. 

9 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The unclassified 

10 portion of a report required by subsection (a) shall 

11 be posted on a publicly available Internet website of 

12 the Department of the Treasury— 

13 (A) in English, Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri; 

14 and 

15 (B) in precompressed, easily downloadable 

16 versions that are made available in all appro17 priate formats. 

18 (c) SOURCES OF INFORMATION.—In preparing a re19 port required by subsection (a), the President may utilize 

20 any credible publication, database, Internet-based re21 source, and any credible information compiled by any gov22 ernment agency, nongovernmental organization, or other 

23 entity provided to or made available to the President. 

24 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro25 priate congressional committees’’ means— 


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1 (1) the Committee on Financial Services and 

2 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

3 Representatives; and 

4 (2) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

5 Urban Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Rela6 tions of the Senate. 

7 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES POLICY ON HOSTAGE-TAKING BY 

8 THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

10 (1) Since 1979 the Iranian regime has engaged 

11 in various destabilizing activities that undermine the 

12 national security of the United States and its allies 

13 and partners. 

14 (2) These activities include the hostage-taking 

15 or prolonged arbitrary detentions of United States 

16 citizens and other persons with connections to Can17 ada, the United Kingdom, France, and other coun18 tries allied with the United States. 

19 (3) The Iranian regime has detained on fab20 ricated claims a significant number of United States 

21 citizens, including Siamak and Baquer Namazi and 

22 Xiyue Wang, as well as United States legal perma23 nent resident, Nizar Zakka, in violation of inter24 national legal norms. 


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1 (4) The Iranian regime has not provided infor2 mation on the whereabouts of or assistance in ensur3 ing the prompt and safe return of Robert Levinson, 

4 despite repeated promises to do so, after he was kid5 napped while visiting Iran’s Kish Island on March 9, 

6 2007—making him the longest held hostage in 

7 United States history. 

8 (5) The Iranian regime reportedly uses hostages 

9 as leverage against foreign investors to exact busi10 ness concessions in foreign investment deals. 

11 (6) The type of hostage-taking enterprise put in 

12 place by the Iranian regime is a crime against hu13 manity and a violation of customary international 

14 law. 

15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

16 Congress that— 

17 (1) the President should fully utilize all nec18 essary and appropriate measures to prevent the Ira19 nian regime from engaging in hostage-taking or the 

20 prolonged arbitrary detention of United States citi21 zens or aliens lawfully admitted to the United States 

22 for permanent residence, to include— 

23 (A) the use of extradition to try and con24 vict those individuals responsible for ordering or 


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1 controlling such hostage-taking or arbitrary de2 tention; and 

3 (B) the use of the Department of Home4 land Security’s Human Rights Violators and 

5 War Crimes Unit to target such individuals; 

6 and 

7 (2) the United States should encourage its al8 lies and other affected countries to pursue the crimi9 nal prosecution and extradition of state and non10 state actors in Iran that assist in or benefit from 

11 such hostage-taking to prevent such state and non12 state actors from engaging in this practice in the fu13 ture. 

14 (c) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It shall be the policy 

15 of the United States Government not to pay ransom or 

16 release prisoners for the purpose of securing the release 

17 of United States citizens or aliens lawfully admitted to the 

18 United States for permanent residence taken hostage 

19 abroad. 

20 (d) STRATEGY.—Not later than 120 days after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

22 shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 

24 Relations of the Senate a report that contains a strategy 

25 to prevent elements of the Iranian regime from engaging 


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1 in hostage-taking or the prolonged arbitrary detention of 

2 United States citizens or aliens lawfully admitted to the 

3 United States for permanent residence. 

4 SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PER5 SONS WHO ENGAGE IN CERTAIN ACTIONS 

6 AGAINST UNITED STATES CITIZENS OR IRA7 NIAN PERSONS. 

8 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that the United States should coordinate with allies 

10 and partners of the United States and other countries 

11 whose citizens may be subject to politically motivated de12 tention or trial in Iran, to apply sanctions against persons 

13 that are responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for 

14 ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, such deten15 tion or trial. 

16 (b) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Comprehensive Iran 

17 Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 is 

18 amended by inserting after section 105C (22 U.S.C. 

19 8514c) the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 105D. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

2 PERSONS WHO ENGAGE IN CERTAIN ACTIONS 

3 AGAINST UNITED STATES CITIZENS OR IRA4 NIAN PERSONS. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose sanc6 tions described in section 105(c) with respect to each per7 son on the list required by subsection (b). 

8 ‘‘(b) LIST OF PERSONS WHO ENGAGE IN CERTAIN

9 ACTIONS AGAINST UNITED STATES CITIZENS OR IRANIAN

10 PERSONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

12 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

13 President shall submit to the appropriate congres14 sional committees a list of persons that the Presi15 dent determines, based on credible evidence are re16 sponsible for or complicit in, or responsible for or17 dering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the politi18 cally motivated intimidation, abuse, extortion, or de19 tention or trial in Iran of citizens of the United 

20 States or aliens lawfully admitted to the United 

21 States for permanent residence. 

22 ‘‘(2) UPDATES OF LIST.—The President shall 

23 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

24 an updated list under paragraph (1)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) each time the President is required to 

2 submit an updated list to those committees 

3 under section 105(b)(2)(A); and 

4 ‘‘(B) as new information becomes avail5 able. 

6 ‘‘(3) FORM OF REPORT; PUBLIC AVAIL7 ABILITY.— 

8 ‘‘(A) FORM.—The list required by para9 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified 

10 form but may contain a classified annex. 

11 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The unclas12 sified portion of the list required by paragraph 

13 (1) shall be posted on a publicly available Inter14 net website of the Department of the Treasury 

15 and of the Department of State. 

16 ‘‘(c) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—The provisions 

17 of this section shall terminate on the date that is 30 days 

18 after the date on which the President— 

19 ‘‘(1) determines and certifies to the appropriate 

20 congressional committees that the Government of 

21 Iran is no longer complicit in or responsible for the 

22 wrongful and unlawful detention of United States 

23 citizens or aliens lawfully admitted to the United 

24 States for permanent residence; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) submits to the appropriate congressional 

2 committees the certification described in section 

3 105(d).’’. 

4 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

5 for the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and 

6 Divestment Act of 2010 is amended by inserting after the 

7 item relating to section 105C the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 105D. Imposition of sanctions with respect to persons who engage in certain actions against United States citizens or Iranian persons.’’. 

8 (d) AMENDMENTS TO GENERAL PROVISIONS.—Sec9 tion 401 of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Account10 ability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8551) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘and 305’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘, 105D, and 305’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘or 105C(a)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘, 105C(a), or 105D(a)’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘or 105C(b)’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘105C(b), or 105D(b)’’. 

19 SEC. 6. CONSOLIDATION OF CERTAIN REPORTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any and all reports required to 

21 be submitted to Congress under this Act, any amendment 

22 made by this Act, or a covered provision of law that are 

23 subject to a deadline for submission consisting of the same 


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1 unit of time may be consolidated into a single report that 

2 is submitted to Congress pursuant to such deadline. 

3 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—A consolidated re4 port under subsection (a) shall contain all information re5 quired under all applicable provisions of this Act, amend6 ments made by this Act, covered provisions of law, and 

7 other provisions of law. 

8 (c) COVERED PROVISIONS OF LAW.—In this section, 

9 the term ‘‘covered provision of law’’ means the following: 

10 (1) The Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public 

11 Law 104–172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note). 

12 (2) The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Ac13 countability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 

14 8501 et seq.). 

15 (3) The Iran Threat Reduction and Syria 

16 Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et 

17 seq.). 

18 (4) The Iran Freedom and Counter-Prolifera19 tion Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.). 

20 (5) Section 1245 of the National Defense Au21 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (22 U.S.C. 

22 8513a). 

Æ 


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