I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8641 

To protect journalists and other members of the press from gross violations 

of internationally recognized human rights, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 20, 2020 

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. 

WILD, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 

KHANNA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. SIRES, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. NEGUSE) 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 protect journalists and other members of the press from 

gross violations of internationally recognized human 

rights, 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 ‘‘Jamal Khashoggi 

5 Press Freedom Accountability Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) A free and independent press is necessary 

4 for citizens to make informed choices on issues of 

5 public concern, to have the information necessary to 

6 recognize truth from falsehood, and to hold the pow7 erful and government officials to account. 

8 (2) As reflected in the First Amendment to the 

9 United States Constitution, a free press is essential 

10 to safeguard democracy. 

11 (3) The suppression of the press is historically 

12 associated with authoritarian rule. 

13 (4) As provided in Article 19 of the United Na14 tions Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 

15 the International Covenant on Civil and Political 

16 Rights, all people enjoy the right to freedom of opin17 ion and expression, which includes the right to seek, 

18 receive, and impart information. 

19 (5) An informed public is fundamental to a free 

20 society. 

21 (6) In accordance with a long United States 

22 history of championing freedom of the press around 

23 the globe, the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press 

24 Act of 2009 was enacted into law (Public Law 111– 

25 166). 


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1 (7) Since the passage of the Daniel Pearl Free2 dom of the Press Act of 2009, the global environ3 ment for a free and independent press has become 

4 more repressive. 

5 (8) According to 2019 data from the Committee 

6 to Protect Journalists, for the fourth consecutive 

7 year, at least 248 journalists were imprisoned glob8 ally in 2019, and in 96 percent of the 337 cases in 

9 which journalists were murdered for their work 

10 worldwide in the preceding decade, either no perpe11 trator was successfully prosecuted or only some of 

12 the suspected perpetrators were convicted. 

13 (9) According to 2019 data from Freedom 

14 House, in seven of the last 10 years, more countries 

15 have seen declines in press freedom scores than im16 provements. In the last five years, nearly 50 percent 

17 more countries have seen a net decline in press free18 dom. 

19 (10) According to 2019 data from Reporters 

20 Without Borders, 63 percent of the journalists killed 

21 last year were deliberately targeted and 59 percent 

22 were killed outside warzones. 

23 (11) In 2018, the brutal murder of Jamal 

24 Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi intelligence officers 

25 acting on explicit orders of the Saudi Government 


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1 underscored the extent to which those in power will 

2 go to stifle the freedom of expression, silence their 

3 critics, and eliminate the threat they believe inde4 pendent journalists pose to their rule. 

5 SEC. 3. EXPANDING SCOPE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS 

6 WITH RESPECT TO VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN 

7 RIGHTS OF JOURNALISTS. 

8 The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 

9 et seq.) is amended as follows: 

10 (1) In paragraph (12) of section 116(d)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

12 (i) by inserting ‘‘or online harass13 ment’’ after ‘‘direct physical attacks’’; and 

14 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or surveillance’’ 

15 after ‘‘sources of pressure’’; 

16 (B) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking 

17 ‘‘ensure the prosecution’’ and all that follows to 

18 the end of the clause and inserting ‘‘ensure the 

19 investigation, prosecution, and conviction of 

20 government officials or private individuals who 

21 engage in or facilitate digital or physical at22 tacks, including hacking, censorship, surveil23 lance, harassment, unlawful imprisonment, or 

24 bodily harm, against journalists and others who 

25 perform, or provide administrative support to, 


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1 the dissemination of print, broadcast, internet2 based, or social media intended to communicate 

3 facts or opinion.’’; 

4 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

5 and (C) (as amended by subparagraph (A) of 

6 this section) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), re7 spectively; and 

8 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

9 the following new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(B) an identification of countries in which 

11 there were gross violations of internationally 

12 recognized human rights (as such term is de13 fined for purposes of section 502B) committed 

14 against journalists;’’. 

15 (2) By redesignating the second subsection (i) 

16 of section 502B as subsection (j). 

17 (3) In the first subsection (i) of section 502B— 

18 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) by inserting ‘‘or online harass20 ment’’ after ‘‘direct physical attacks’’; and 

21 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or surveillance’’ 

22 after ‘‘sources of pressure’’; 

23 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) (as 

24 amended by subparagraph (A) of this section) 


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1 and paragraph (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), 

2 respectively; and 

3 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

4 following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(2) an identification of countries in which 

6 there were gross violations of internationally recog7 nized human rights committed against journalists;’’. 

8 SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON PERSONS RESPON9 SIBLE FOR THE COMMISSION OF GROSS VIO10 LATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED 

11 HUMAN RIGHTS AGAINST JOURNALISTS. 

12 (a) LISTING OF PERSONS WHO HAVE COMMITTED

13 GROSS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED

14 HUMAN RIGHTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—On or after the date on 

16 which a person is listed pursuant to paragraph (2), 

17 the President shall impose the sanctions described in 

18 subsection (b) on each foreign person the President 

19 determines, based on credible information, has per20 petrated, ordered, or otherwise directed the 

21 extrajudicial killing of or other gross violation of 

22 internationally recognized human rights committed 

23 against a journalist or other person who performs, 

24 or provides administrative support to, the dissemina25 tion of print, broadcast, internet-based, or social 


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1 media intended to report newsworthy activities or in2 formation, or communicate facts or fact-based opin3 ions. 

4 (2) PUBLICATION OF LIST.—The Secretary of 

5 State shall publish on a publicly available website of 

6 the Department of State a list of the names of each 

7 foreign person determined pursuant to paragraph 

8 (1) to have perpetrated, ordered, or directed an act 

9 described in such paragraph. Such list shall be up10 dated at least annually. 

11 (3) EXCEPTION.—The President may waive the 

12 imposition of sanctions under paragraph (1) and 

13 omit a foreign person from the list published in ac14 cordance with paragraph (2), or terminate such 

15 sanctions and remove a foreign person from such 

16 list, if the President certifies to the Committee on 

17 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and 

18 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate— 

19 (A) that public identification of the indi20 vidual is not in the national interest of the 

21 United States, including an unclassified de22 scription of the factual basis supporting such 

23 certification that may contain a classified 

24 annex; or 


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1 (B) that appropriate foreign government 

2 authorities have credibly— 

3 (i) investigated the foreign person 

4 and, as appropriate, held such person ac5 countable for perpetrating, ordering, or di6 recting the acts described in paragraph 

7 (1); 

8 (ii) publicly condemned violations of 

9 the freedom of the press and the acts de10 scribed in paragraph (1); 

11 (iii) complied with any requests for in12 formation from international or regional 

13 human rights organizations with respect to 

14 the acts described in paragraph (1); and 

15 (iv) complied with any United States 

16 Government requests for information with 

17 respect to the acts described in paragraph 

18 (1). 

19 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de20 scribed in this subsection are the following: 

21 (1) ASSET BLOCKING.—The President shall ex22 ercise all of the powers granted to the President 

23 under the International Emergency Economic Pow24 ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent nec25 essary to block and prohibit all transactions in propVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:38 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8641.IH H8641

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1 erty and interests in property of a foreign person 

2 identified in the report required under subsection 

3 (a)(1) if such property and interests in property are 

4 in the United States, come within the United States, 

5 or come within the possession or control of a United 

6 States person. 

7 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, OR

8 PAROLE.— 

9 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—An 

10 alien described in subsection (a)(1) is— 

11 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 

12 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

13 documentation to enter the United States; 

14 and 

15 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

16 or paroled into the United States or to re17 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra18 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

19 seq.). 

20 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—An alien described 

22 in subsection (a)(1) is subject to revocation 

23 of any visa or other entry documentation 

24 regardless of when the visa or other entry 

25 documentation is or was issued. 


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1 (ii) IMMEDIATE EFFECT.—A revoca2 tion under clause (i) shall take effect im3 mediately, and automatically cancel any 

4 other valid visa or entry documentation 

5 that is in the alien’s possession. 

6 (3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

7 (A) EXCEPTION FOR INTELLIGENCE AC8 TIVITIES.—The sanctions described in this sub9 section shall not apply to any activity subject to 

10 the reporting requirements under title V of the 

11 National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 

12 et seq.) or any authorized intelligence activities 

13 of the United States. 

14 (B) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER15 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.—The sanctions de16 scribed in this subsection shall not apply with 

17 respect to an alien if admitting or paroling the 

18 alien into the United States is necessary to per19 mit the United States to comply with the 

20 Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 

21 United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 

22 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 

23 1947, between the United Nations and the 

24 United States, or other applicable international 

25 obligations. 


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1 (c) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

2 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex3 ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 

4 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 

5 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out 

6 this section. 

7 (2) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in 

8 subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter9 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

10 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a foreign person that 

11 violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or 

12 causes a violation of this section to the same extent 

13 that such penalties apply to a person that commits 

14 an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of such 

15 section 206. 

16 (d) EXCEPTION RELATING TO THE IMPORTATION OF

17 GOODS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and require19 ments to impose sanctions under this Act shall not 

20 include any authority or requirement to impose sanc21 tions on the importation of goods. 

22 (2) GOOD DEFINED.—For purposes of this sub23 section, the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural 

24 or man-made substance, material, supply, or manuVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:38 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8641.IH H8641

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1 factured product, including inspection and test 

2 equipment and excluding technical data. 

3 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 

5 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 

6 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

7 (8 U.S.C. 1001). 

8 (2) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per9 son’’ means an individual who is not— 

10 (A) a United States citizen or national; or 

11 (B) an alien lawfully admitted for perma12 nent residence to the United States. 

13 (3) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

14 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

15 (A) a United States citizen, an alien law16 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

17 United States, or any other individual subject 

18 to the jurisdiction of the United States; 

19 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

20 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 

21 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

22 such entity; or 

23 (C) any person in the United States. 


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1 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE. 

2 (a) PROHIBITION.—Assistance authorized under the 

3 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) 

4 or the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) 

5 may not be made available to any governmental entity of 

6 a country if the Secretary of State or the Director of Na7 tional Intelligence has credible information that one or 

8 more officials associated with, leading, or otherwise acting 

9 under the authority of such entity has committed a gross 

10 violation of internationally recognized human rights 

11 against a journalist or other person who performs, or pro12 vides administrative support to, the dissemination of print, 

13 broadcast, internet-based, or social media intended to re14 port newsworthy activities or information, or communicate 

15 facts or fact-based opinions. To the maximum extent prac16 ticable, a list of such governmental entities shall be pub17 lished on publicly available websites of the Department of 

18 State and of the Office of the Director of National Intel19 ligence and shall be updated on a regular basis. 

20 (b) PROMPT INFORMATION.—The Secretary of State 

21 shall promptly inform appropriate officials of the govern22 ment of a country from which assistance is withheld in 

23 accordance with the prohibition under subsection (a). 

24 (c) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition under subsection 

25 (a) shall not apply with respect to the following: 


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1 (1) Humanitarian assistance or disaster relief 

2 assistance authorized under the Foreign Assistance 

3 Act of 1961. 

4 (2) Assistance the Secretary determines to be 

5 essential to assist the government of a country to 

6 bring the responsible members of the relevant gov7 ernmental entity to justice for the acts described in 

8 subsection (a). 

9 (d) WAIVER.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, may 

11 waive the prohibition under subsection (a) with re12 spect to a governmental entity of a country if— 

13 (A) the President, acting through the Sec14 retary of State and the Director of National In15 telligence, determines that such a waiver is in 

16 the national security interest of the United 

17 States; or 

18 (B) the Secretary of State has received 

19 credible information that the government of 

20 that country has— 

21 (i) performed a thorough investigation 

22 of the acts described in subsection (a) and 

23 is taking effective steps to bring respon24 sible members of the relevant governmental 

25 entity to justice; 


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1 (ii) condemned violations of the free2 dom of the press and the acts described in 

3 subsection (a); 

4 (iii) complied with any requests for in5 formation from international or regional 

6 human rights organizations with respect to 

7 the acts described in subsection (a), in ac8 cordance with international legal obliga9 tions to protect the freedom of expression; 

10 and 

11 (iv) complied with United States Gov12 ernment requests for information with re13 spect to the acts described in paragraph 

14 (a). 

15 (2) CERTIFICATION.—A waiver described in 

16 paragraph (1) may only take effect if— 

17 (A) the Secretary of State certifies, not 

18 later than 30 days before the effective date of 

19 the waiver, to the Committee on Foreign Af20 fairs and the Committee on Appropriations of 

21 the House of Representatives and the Com22 mittee on Foreign Relations and the Committee 

23 on Appropriations of the Senate that such waiv24 er is warranted and includes an unclassified de25 scription of the factual basis supporting the cerVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:38 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8641.IH H8641

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1 tification, which may contain a classified annex; 

2 and 

3 (B) the Director of National Intelligence, 

4 not later than 30 days before the effective date 

5 of the waiver, submits to the Permanent Select 

6 Committee on Intelligence of the House of Rep7 resentatives and the Select Committee on Intel8 ligence of the Senate a report detailing any un9 derlying information that the intelligence com10 munity (as such term is defined in section 3 of 

11 the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 

12 3003)) has regarding the perpetrators of the 

13 acts described in subsection (a), which shall be 

14 submitted in unclassified form but may contain 

15 a classified annex. 

Æ 


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