III 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 694 

Condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of 

religious minorities in Iran and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 3, 2010 

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. 

LEAHY, Mr. KYL, Mr. CASEY, Mr. JOHANNS, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. 

LIEBERMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored 

persecution of religious minorities in Iran and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human 

Rights. 

Whereas Iran is a multicultural society comprised of Shia 

and Sunni Muslims, as well as Baha’is, Christians, Jews, 

Zoroastrians, Persians, Azeris, Gilakis and 

Mazandaranis, Kurds, Arabs, Lurs, Turkmen, Armenians, Balochis, Bakhtyaris, and others, and many of 

these communities have coexisted for thousands of years; 

Whereas the Baha’i community is the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran, whose teachings emphasize 


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•SRES 694 IS 

multiculturalism, equality of men and women, interdependence, and humankind living in peace; 

Whereas vast numbers of Iranians recognize the many contributions Baha’is have made to their society despite facing government-sponsored persecution; 

Whereas, in 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, 

2006, 2008, and 2009, Congress declared that it deplored the religious persecution by the Government of 

Iran of the Baha’i community and would hold the Government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights of 

all Iranian nationals, including members of the Baha’i 

faith; 

Whereas, according to the February 2010 United Nations 

Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of 

Iran, ‘‘The Secretary-General noted reports about 

Baha ́’is subjected to arbitrary detention, false imprisonment, confiscation and destruction of property, citing a 

significant increase in violence targeting Baha ́’is, including torture or ill-treatment in custody.’’; 

Whereas, in August 2010, the seven former leaders of the 

Iranian Baha’i community were sentenced to a 20-year 

prison term, later reduced to a 10-year sentence, following over two years of arbitrary detention without trial; 

Whereas numerous independent observers and legal experts, 

including the United Nations High Commissioner for 

Human Rights, have raised serious questions about the 

lack of due process or fairness of their trial; 

Whereas over 43 Baha’is continue to be imprisoned in Iran 

as of November 2010 solely because of their religious beliefs; 


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Whereas the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability 

and Divestment Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–195) calls 

on the President to impose ‘‘sanctions on certain persons 

who are responsible for or complicit in human rights 

abuses committed against citizens of Iran or their family 

members’’; 

Whereas, on March 15, 2010, Ms. Rozita Vaseghi was arrested and has since been held in solitary confinement at 

the detention center of the Ministry of Intelligence unit 

in Mashhad; 

Whereas the seven leaders of the Baha’i community, Fariba 

Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Behrouz 

Tavakkoli, Saeid Rezaie, Vahid Tizfahm, and Mahvash 

Sabet, were arrested between March and May 2008 and 

have remained in detention; 

Whereas, on June 14, 2010, the trial of these seven leaders 

concluded after four hearings and on June 30 the court 

issued a 20-year prison sentence for each which was subsequently verbally changed to a 10-year sentence; 

Whereas, on October 12, 2009, Christian pastor Youcef 

Nadarkhani was arrested in northern Iran and faces a 

death sentence for apostasy after he questioned the Muslim monopoly on religious instruction his children were 

receiving in school; 

Whereas, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of incidents of Iranian authorities 

raiding church services, detaining worshippers and 

church leaders, and harassing and threatening church 

members; 


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Whereas official policies promoting anti-Semitism have risen 

sharply in Iran, particularly since President Ahmadinejad 

came to power in 2005; 

Whereas, on July 23, 2009, riot police and security forces injured and arrested 20 Sufi practitioners in Gonabad who 

then received sentences of flogging or imprisonment in 

May 2010; 

Whereas, in January 2009, Jamshid Lak, a Sufi of the 

Gonabadi Dervish order, was flogged 74 times after being 

charged in 2006 with slander after reportedly publicly 

complaining of ill treatment by the Ministry of Intelligence; 

Whereas, in July 2008, plain clothes security officers raided 

the home of Isfahan Iranian Christians Abbas Amiri and 

Sakineh Rahnama during a meeting, and both Amiri and 

Rahnama died of injuries suffered during the raid; 

Whereas these individuals were targeted solely on the basis 

of their religion; and 

Whereas the Government of Iran is party to the International 

Covenants on Human Rights: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the Government of Iran for its 

3 state-sponsored persecution of religious minorities in 

4 Iran and its continued violation of the International 

5 Covenants on Human Rights; 

6 (2) calls on the Government of Iran to imme7 diately release the seven leaders of the Baha’i com8 munity and all other prisoners held solely on account 

9 of their religion, including Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, 


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1 Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. 

2 Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash 

3 Sabet, Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, Ms. Raha Sabet, Mr. 

4 Sasan Taqva, Ms. Haleh Roohi, and Ms Rozita 

5 Vaseghi; 

6 (3) calls on the President and Secretary of 

7 State, in cooperation with the international commu8 nity, to continue to condemn the Government of 

9 Iran’s ongoing violation of human rights and de10 mand the immediate release of prisoners held solely 

11 on account of their religion, including Mrs. Fariba 

12 Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif 

13 Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, 

14 Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, Ms. Raha 

15 Sabet, Mr. Sasan Taqva, Ms. Haleh Roohi, and Ms 

16 Rozita Vaseghi; 

17 (4) urges the President and Secretary of State 

18 to consider implementing further sanctions against 

19 officials directly responsible for egregious human 

20 rights violations, including against the Baha’is; 

21 (5) calls on the United States Government to 

22 continue to support an annual United Nations Gen23 eral Assembly resolution condemning severe viola24 tions of human rights, including freedom of religion 

25 or belief, in Iran; 


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1 (6) calls on the United States Government to 

2 press for a resolution condemning severe violations 

3 of human rights in Iran, including freedom of reli4 gion or belief, at the United Nations General Assem5 bly and at the United Nations Human Rights Coun6 cil; and 

7 (7) call on the United Nations Human Rights 

8 Council to restore the position of United Nations 

9 Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights 

10 in Iran with the task of investigating and reporting 

11 on human rights abuses in Iran. 

Æ 


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