I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4647 

To impose sanctions on persons who are complicit in human rights abuses 

committed against citizens of Iran or their family members after the 

June 12, 2009, elections in Iran, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2010 

Mr. MCMAHON (for himself, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. KLEIN of Florida, Mr. 

WEINER, and Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 

to the Committees on Financial Services, Ways and Means, and 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 impose sanctions on persons who are complicit in human 

rights abuses committed against citizens of Iran or their 

family members after the June 12, 2009, elections in 

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 Sanctions Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Iran voted in the United Nations General 

4 Assembly on December 10, 1948, to adopt the Uni5 versal Declaration of Human Rights, thereby com6 mitting to guarantee the ‘‘life, liberty, and security 

7 of person’’ of all people and rejecting ‘‘cruel, inhu8 man, or degrading treatment or punishment’’. 

9 (2) The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of 

10 Iran guarantees certain human rights and funda11 mental freedoms, including political and civil rights, 

12 along with economic, social, and cultural rights, in13 cluding a prohibition on torture and a guarantee of 

14 sentencing according to the law. 

15 (3) The Islamic Republic of Iran is a party to 

16 4 major United Nations human rights treaties: the 

17 Convention on the Rights of the Child (which it rati18 fied on July 13, 1994), the International Convention 

19 on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimi20 nation (which it ratified on August 29, 1968), and 

21 the International Covenant on Civil and Political 

22 Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, 

23 Social and Cultural Rights (both of which it ratified 

24 on June 24, 1975). 

25 (4) The Government of the Islamic Republic of 

26 Iran is violating its international and constitutional 


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1 obligations to respect the human rights and funda2 mental freedoms of its citizens, including by— 

3 (A) using torture and cruel, inhuman, or 

4 degrading treatment or punishment, including 

5 flogging, and amputations; 

6 (B) carrying out an increasingly high rate 

7 of executions in the absence of internationally 

8 recognized safeguards, including public execu9 tions and executions of juvenile offenders; 

10 (C) using stoning as a method of execution 

11 and maintaining a high number of persons in 

12 prison who continue to face sentences of execu13 tion by stoning; 

14 (D) carrying out arrests, violent repres15 sion, and sentencing of women exercising their 

16 right to peaceful assembly, a campaign of in17 timidation against women’s rights defenders, 

18 and continuing discrimination against women 

19 and girls; 

20 (E) permitting or carrying out increasing 

21 discrimination and other human rights viola22 tions against persons belonging to religious, 

23 ethnic, linguistic, or other minorities; 

24 (F) imposing ongoing, systematic, and se25 rious restrictions of freedom of peaceful assemVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:01 Feb 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4647.IH H4647

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1 bly and association and freedom of opinion and 

2 expression, including the continuing closures of 

3 media outlets, arrests of journalists, and the 

4 censorship of expression in online forums such 

5 as blogs and websites; and 

6 (G) imposing severe limitations and re7 strictions on freedom of religion and belief, in8 cluding by carrying out arbitrary arrests, in9 definite detentions, and lengthy jail sentences 

10 for those exercising their rights to freedom of 

11 religion or belief and proposing a provision in a 

12 draft penal code that sets out a mandatory 

13 death sentence for apostasy, the abandoning of 

14 one’s faith. 

15 (5) On June 19, 2009, the United Nations 

16 High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed 

17 concerns about the increasing number of arrests not 

18 in conformity with the law and the illegal use of ex19 cessive force in responding to protests following the 

20 June 12, 2009, elections in Iran, resulting in at 

21 least dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. 

22 (6) On August 1, 2009, authorities in the Is23 lamic Republic of Iran began a mass trial of more 

24 than 100 individuals in connection with election pro25 tests, most of whom were held for weeks, in solitary 


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1 confinement, with little or no access to their lawyers 

2 or families, and many of whom showed signs of tor3 ture or abuse. 

4 (7) The Supreme Leader of Iran issued a state5 ment on October 28, 2009, effectively criminalizing 

6 dissent in the aftermath of the national election of 

7 June 12, 2009. 

8 (8) On November 4, 2009, security forces in 

9 the Islamic Republic of Iran used brutal force to dis10 perse thousands of protesters, resulting in a number 

11 of injuries and arrests, in violation of international 

12 standards regarding the proportionate use of force 

13 against peaceful demonstrations. 

14 (9) At least 8 citizens of Iran were killed and 

15 an undetermined number were injured on December 

16 27, 2009, when security forces of the Islamic Repub17 lic of Iran violently broke up peaceful gatherings 

18 during the Ashura holiday. 

19 (10) The Government of the Islamic Republic of 

20 Iran has recently sentenced numerous Iranian citi21 zens to death without due process for politicized 

22 crimes relating to the peaceful demonstrations that 

23 followed the June 12, 2009, elections, including 

24 ‘‘waging war against God’’, and has begun carrying 


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1 out those execution sentences, including the death by 

2 hanging of 2 individuals on January 28, 2010. 

3 SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN PERSONS 

4 WHO ARE COMPLICIT IN HUMAN RIGHTS 

5 ABUSES COMMITTED AGAINST CITIZENS OF 

6 IRAN OR THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS AFTER 

7 THE JUNE 12, 2009, ELECTIONS IN IRAN. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 

9 (d) and (e), the President shall impose sanctions described 

10 in subsection (c) with respect to each person on the list 

11 required by subsection (b). 

12 (b) LIST OF PERSONS WHO ARE COMPLICIT IN CER13 TAIN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

16 shall submit to the appropriate congressional com17 mittees a list of persons who are citizens of Iran who 

18 the President determines are complicit in human 

19 rights abuses committed against citizens of Iran or 

20 their family members on or after June 12, 2009, re21 gardless of whether such abuses occurred in Iran. 

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

23 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

24 an updated list under paragraph (1) periodically and 

25 as new information becomes available. 


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1 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The list required 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be made available to the 

3 public and posted on the websites of the Department 

4 of the Treasury and the Department of State. 

5 (4) CONSIDERATION OF DATA FROM OTHER

6 COUNTRIES AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA7 TIONS.—In preparing the list required under para8 graph (1), the President shall consider data already 

9 obtained by other countries and nongovernmental or10 ganizations, including organizations in Iran, that 

11 monitor the human rights abuses of the Government 

12 of Iran. 

13 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de14 scribed in this subsection are the following: 

15 (1) VISA BAN.—Ineligibility for a visa to enter 

16 the United States. 

17 (2) FINANCIAL SANCTIONS.—Sanctions author18 ized under the International Emergency Economic 

19 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), including 

20 blocking of property and restrictions or prohibitions 

21 on financial transactions and the exportation and 

22 importation of property. 

23 (d) EXCEPTIONS TO COMPLY WITH INTERNATIONAL

24 AGREEMENTS.—The President may, by regulation, au25 thorize exceptions to the imposition of sanctions under this 


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1 section to permit the United States to comply with the 

2 Agreement between the United Nations and the United 

3 States of America regarding the Headquarters of the 

4 United Nations, signed June 26, 1947, and entered into 

5 force November 21, 1947, and other applicable inter6 national agreements. 

7 (e) WAIVER.—The President may waive the require8 ment to impose or maintain sanctions with respect to a 

9 person under subsection (a) or the requirement to include 

10 a person on the list required by subsection (b) if the Presi11 dent— 

12 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na13 tional interest of the United States; and 

14 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 

15 committees a report describing the reasons for the 

16 determination. 

17 (f) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—The provisions of 

18 this section shall cease to have force and effect on the date 

19 on which the President determines and certifies to the ap20 propriate congressional committees that the Government 

21 of Iran has— 

22 (1) unconditionally released all political pris23 oners, including the citizens of Iran detained in the 

24 aftermath of the June 12, 2009, presidential election 

25 in Iran; 


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1 (2) ceased its practices of violence, unlawful de2 tention, torture, and abuse of citizens of Iran while 

3 engaging in peaceful political activity; and 

4 (3) conducted a transparent investigation into 

5 the killings, arrest, and abuse of peaceful political 

6 activists in Iran and prosecuted those individuals re7 sponsible. 

8 (g) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

9 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con10 gressional committees’’ has the meaning given that term 

11 in section 14(2) of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public 

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

Æ 


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