III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 342 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the practice of politically motivated imprisonment of women around the world and calling on governments for the immediate release of women who are political prisoners. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 7, 2021 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. 

COONS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the practice 

of politically motivated imprisonment of women around 

the world and calling on governments for the immediate 

release of women who are political prisoners. 

Whereas Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human 

Rights guarantees the right to life, liberty, and security 

of person, Article 9 of the Declaration prohibits arbitrary 

arrests or detentions, and Article 18 of the Declaration 

guarantees the right to freedom of thought, conscience, 

and religion; 

Whereas women around the world face enormous risks when 

seeking to advance human rights and pursue progress for 

their communities, including— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 342 IS 

(1) discriminatory policies and attitudes; 

(2) repressive governments; 

(3) abusive authorities; and 

(4) critical threats to their health, especially amid 

the COVID–19 pandemic; 

Whereas women activists around the world are being unjustly 

or wrongfully detained in order to silence their voices and 

end their activism; 

Whereas women journalists are being unjustly or wrongfully 

detained for speaking truth to power and exposing corruption and abuses by governments and other authorities; 

Whereas, according to the United Nations Office of the High 

Commissioner for Human Rights, many women detainees 

face inhumane and degrading treatment upon arrest, including threats of rape, invasive body searches, and humiliations of a sexual nature, and once unjustly imprisoned, many women are subjected to sexual violence and 

other forms of torture at the hands of security forces; 

Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic presents a severe threat to 

women who are detained unjustly and who are often 

housed in overcrowded prisons with limited access to 

medical care, which can convert unjust prison sentences 

into death sentences for vulnerable, detained women; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has waged a brutal 

campaign to suppress political dissent and vibrant ethnic 

minority communities; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has suppressed and 

detained human rights defenders and journalists, including— 

(1) Li Yuhan, a human rights lawyer jailed for representing cases concerning freedom of belief and access 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 342 IS 

to government information, who has been subject to 

verbal abuse and other mistreatment while held in extended pre-trial detention; and 

(2) Zhang Zhan, a citizen-journalist sentenced to 4 

years in prison for reporting on COVID–19 in Wuhan; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has subjected 

Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang to mass 

surveillance, forced labor, forced birth control, forced 

sterilization, coerced abortion, sexual assault, rape, unjust or wrongful detainment, and extrajudicial internment, including— 

(1) Rahile Dawut, a professor of traditional Uyghur 

culture and recipient of the 2020 ‘‘Courage to Think’’ 

award, who has been held incommunicado since her disappearance in December 2017; 

(2) Gulmira Imin, a former Uyghur-language 

website administrator and writer, who is serving out a 

19-year sentence for her alleged role in organizing demonstrations in 2009 and her online criticism of Chinese 

repression of the Uyghurs; and 

(3) Nigare Abdushukur, who was sentenced to 19 

years imprisonment after calling her brother in Germany 

to tell him about their mother’s detention; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has targeted Tibetans for peaceful political or cultural expression, including— 

(1) Bonkho Kyi, who was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for organizing a picnic celebration for His 

Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday; and 

(2) Yeshe Choedron, who was sentenced in 2008 to 

15 years imprisonment for allegedly contacting the TiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:46 Aug 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR342.IS SR342

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 342 IS 

betan government in exile after participating in the 2008 

Lhasa protests; 

Whereas the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong has 

been subjected to harsh government persecution at the 

direction of the People’s Republic of China, and activists 

have been unjustly jailed, including Quinn Moon, who 

was among 12 activists captured while trying to flee persecution in Hong Kong and was subsequently sentenced 

to 2 years in prison; 

Whereas, in Iran, human rights defenders have been steadfast in their advocacy despite repeated abuse and arrest 

by authorities, including currently detained human rights 

activists— 

(1) Nasrin Sotoudeh, who spoke out against the 

death penalty and laws forcing women to wear hijabs and 

who has recently been returned to prison after a medical 

leave despite serious health conditions; and 

(2) Atena Daemi, a human rights activist who has 

been sentenced to an additional 2 years in prison and 74 

lashes for participating in a peaceful sit-in protest in 

Evin prison during her initial 5-year sentence; 

Whereas Iranian authorities have also recently arrested and 

imprisoned environmentalists working for the Persian 

Wildlife Heritage Foundation, including Sepideh Kashani 

and Niloufar Bayani, who previously worked for the 

United Nations Environment Programme, subjecting 

them to torture and threats of sexual assault; 

Whereas Turkey is the world’s second worst jailer of journalists, with 37 journalists imprisoned in 2020 alone, including— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 342 IS 

(1) Hatice Duman, owner and editor at Atilim, 

which published editorials condemning President 

Erdogan’s policies; and 

(2) Ays ̧enur Parildak, journalist for Zaman; 

Whereas the Government of Egypt has attempted to quash 

dissent by jailing and abusing human rights defenders, 

including Sanaa Seif, who was detained while filing a 

complaint at the Public Prosecutor’s office regarding her 

violent assault outside Cairo’s Tora prison, which houses 

her brother, who is a political activist; 

Whereas Belarusian authorities, as a means of silencing popular protests, have attacked and jailed journalists, human 

rights defenders, and members of civil society, including— 

(1) Katsiaryna Bakhvalova and Darya Chultsova, 2 

members of the media covering anti-Lukashenko protests 

who were sentenced to 2 years in prison for ‘‘organizing 

and preparing actions that grossly violate public order’’; 

(2) Yulia Slutskaya, founder of a nongovernmental 

organization that investigates government persecution of 

journalists covering protests; 

(3) Maryia Kalesnikava, a prominent Belarusian opposition leader abducted and charged with incitement to 

undermine national security for her pro-democracy advocacy; and 

(4) Marfa Rabkova, a human rights defender targeted for observing demonstrations and documenting evidence of law enforcement officials torturing peaceful 

protestors; 

Whereas Saudi Arabian women’s rights and human rights activist Maya’a al-Zahrani remains wrongfully imprisoned; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•SRES 342 IS 

Whereas the Government of Nicaragua has detained human 

rights defenders Maria Esperanza Sanchez and Karla 

Vanessa Escobar Maldonado in terrible conditions for 

their participation in demonstrations in 2018; 

Whereas Senator Leila de Lima remains unjustly imprisoned 

in the Philippines for her vocal criticism of extrajudicial 

killings carried out during President Duterte’s ‘‘war on 

drugs’’; 

Whereas the Government of Vietnam has jailed civil and 

human rights activist Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hanh and journalist Pham Thi Doan Trang for their peaceful work to 

preserve and expand rights afforded to Vietnamese citizens; and 

Whereas in Eritrea, political dissident Aster Fissehatsion and 

dual United States-Eritrean national Ciham Ali have 

been held incommunicado without charge or trial since 

2001 and 2012, respectively: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports women who are being unjustly or 

3 wrongfully detained around the world; 

4 (2) affirms that a government should never de5 tain its citizens for exercising the rights of freedom 

6 of assembly, association, and speech; 

7 (3) calls on governments that are unjustly or 

8 wrongfully detaining women for exercising their fun9 damental rights to immediately and unconditionally 

10 release these political prisoners; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•SRES 342 IS 

1 (4) urges the United States Government, in all 

2 its interactions with foreign governments— 

3 (A) to raise individual cases of women po4 litical prisoners; and 

5 (B) to press for the immediate release of 

6 such political prisoners. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS