III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 599 

Protecting the Iranian political refugees, including female former political 

prisoners, in Ashraf–3 in Albania. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 20, 2024 

Mr. TILLIS (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. COONS, and Mr. BOOKER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Protecting the Iranian political refugees, including female 

former political prisoners, in Ashraf–3 in Albania. 

Whereas, since October 2023, the Iranian regime has increasingly acted as the epicenter of terrorism in the region, 

from supporting proxies that vehemently oppose peace in 

the Middle East, to threatening commercial shipping and 

free trade in the Red Sea and from targeting American 

forces in the region, to providing missile and drones to 

rogue actors, all of which pose serious risks to regional 

peace and security and endanger the vital interests of the 

United States; 

Whereas Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of 

terrorism today; 


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•SRES 599 IS 

Whereas the Iranian people have rejected the regime ruling 

Iran through several rounds of major demonstrations, engulfing all 31 provinces of Iran calling for change; 

Whereas the Iranian regime has resorted to killing, torture, 

sexual violence, and imprisonment of protesters, and several thousand protesters since 2017 have been killed, and 

many more have been imprisoned; 

Whereas the Iranian regime has been intent on eliminating 

the Iranian political refugees who survived Tehran’s repression and were first based in Camp Ashraf, Iraq, in 

the mid-1980s; 

Whereas, starting in 2012, the United States Government 

and the United Nations initiated the relocation of nearly 

3,000 Iranian dissidents from Camp Ashraf, Iraq, where 

they were repeatedly attacked by the Iranian regime’s 

proxies, and facilitated their gradual relocation in 2013, 

2014, and 2015 to Albania; 

Whereas the relocation of these Iranian political refugees to 

Albania from Iraq was completed in September 2016, 

and the refugees, a third of them women, are now residing in Ashraf–3 near Tirana in Albania; 

Whereas, on April 19, 2016, before the relocation of the majority of the residents to Albania, in a letter to a European Parliament Vice-President, the Prime Minister of 

Albania wrote, ‘‘Albania is fully engaged and committed 

to ensure for the Iranian refugees all rights stipulated in 

the Geneva Convention 1951, in the European Human 

Rights Convention and in the whole international legislation.’’; 

Whereas over 900 women and men of Ashraf–3 are former 

political prisoners who endured torture while in prisons 


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and many of them are witnesses of the 1988 massacre 

of political prisoners and other political killings in Iran, 

among them eyewitnesses of crimes committed by 

Ebrahim Raisi; 

Whereas these witnesses must be fully protected for potential 

testimonies before international courts investigating the 

1988 massacre and other grave human rights violations 

in Iran; 

Whereas, in November 2021, the Swedish Judiciary moved 

the whole court in Stockholm to Albania for two weeks 

to facilitate hearing testimonies of seven former Iranian 

political prisoners now residing in Ashraf–3, whose testimony was characterized as critical for a trial related to 

the 1988 massacre; 

Whereas, in December 2023, a Swedish court confirmed the 

earlier ruling by the lower court of a life sentence for 

Hamid Noury, implicated in the 1988 massacre where he 

was an official in Gohardasht Prison; 

Whereas the Iranian regime has stepped up terrorist attacks 

against its opponents and has used blackmail, terror 

threats, hostage-taking, sham judicial proceedings, and 

other means of intimidation against western nations to 

compel them to silence Iranian opponents living abroad; 

Whereas, on several occasions, including in the last week of 

December 2023, the Iranian regime carried out largescale cyberattacks against Albania to pressure the Government of Albania to undermine or end its hosting of 

Iranian political refugees; 

Whereas experience has shown that any lack of decisiveness 

or concessions to Tehran only emboldens the Iranian regime for its destructive actions; 


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Whereas the Iranian regime has, over the past few months, 

stepped up threats against Ashraf–3, and given what the 

regime has done since October 7, 2023, far more vigilance on the part of the United States is required to ensure the complete protection and rights of Ashraf–3 residents in Albania; 

Whereas, on December 12, 2023, the Iranian regime started 

sham trials in absentia for 104 veteran members of the 

Iranian Resistance, who, since years ago, have been primarily based in Europe, including in Albania, to create 

a phony legal precedent against them and secure their extradition to Iran by misusing INTERPOL Red Notices, 

impose limitations, or set the stage for terror attacks 

against them; 

Whereas the Iranian regime is doing its utmost through any 

means to prevent Ashraf–3 residents from speaking up 

against the regime; 

Whereas the leadership role of women in Ashraf–3 has doubly 

heightened the Iranian regime’s misogynous hysteria 

against the political refugees in Ashraf–3; 

Whereas over 3,600 parliamentarians around the world and 

125 former world leaders have expressed their support 

for Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan for the Future 

of Iran, which calls for the universal right to vote, free 

elections, a market economy, separation of religion and 

state, and advocates for gender, religious, and ethnic 

equality, a foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence, 

peace in the Middle East, and a nonnuclear republic 

Iran; and 

Whereas, in sharp contrast to Iran’s institutionalized misogyny, this Ten-Point platform has adequately addressed 


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women’s equality, including ‘‘complete gender equality in 

the realms of political, social, cultural and economic 

rights. An equal participation of women in political leadership, abolishment of any form of discrimination. The 

right to choose one’s own clothing freely, the right to 

freely marry and divorce, and to obtain education and 

employment. Prohibition of all forms of exploitation 

against women under any pretext.’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) the Iranian political refugees in Ashraf–3, 

3 in rejection of the Iranian regime’s demands, must 

4 be afforded their fundamental rights of freedom of 

5 expression and assembly and legal political activities 

6 in Albania; 

7 (2) the United States Government condemns 

8 the Iranian regime’s threats and nefarious actions 

9 against the Government of Albania, including 

10 cyberattacks and threats against the Iranian dis11 sidents in Ashraf–3 in Albania; 

12 (3) the United States Government should take 

13 prompt and appropriate steps in accordance with 

14 international law, including the Universal Declara15 tion of Human Rights, the International Covenant 

16 on Civil and Political Rights, the European Conven17 tion on Human Rights, and the 1951 Convention 

18 Relating to the Status of Refugees, to help the Gov19 ernment of Albania ensure and uphold all fundaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:48 Mar 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR599.IS SR599

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1 mental rights of Ashraf–3 residents within the 

2 framework of the above conventions, including the 

3 right to life, liberty, security, protection of property, 

4 and freedom of expression and assembly; 

5 (4) the United States Government strongly op6 poses Iran’s misuse of the INTERPOL Red Notices 

7 to impose restrictions or limitations or set in motion 

8 the extradition of Iranian dissidents to Iran; and 

9 (5) the United States Government must con10 tinue close and regular cooperation with the Govern11 ment of Albania and the residents of Ashraf–3 to 

12 ensure the complete protection and fundamental 

13 rights of Ashraf–3 residents. 

Æ 


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