II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 231 

To express the sense of Congress regarding the likely involvement of the 

Government of Saudi Arabia in assisting no fewer than two Saudi nationals to avoid criminal prosecution in the United States, and to require 

the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress that describes 

such involvement, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25 (legislative day, JANUARY 24), 2019 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To express the sense of Congress regarding the likely involvement of the Government of Saudi Arabia in assisting 

no fewer than two Saudi nationals to avoid criminal 

prosecution in the United States, and to require the 

Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress that 

describes such involvement, 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 TITLES. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Examining Saudi Con5 sular Activities Promoting Extraction Act’’ or the ‘‘ES6 CAPE of Saudi Nationals Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) On August 19, 2016, a vehicle driven by 

4 Abdhulrahman Sameer Noorah, a Saudi national, 

5 struck and killed a 15-year-old Portland, Oregon, 

6 native while driving between 55 and 60 miles per 

7 hour, approximately twice the posted speed limit. 

8 (2) Saudi Arabia’s Los Angeles consulate re9 portedly posted $100,000 bail to secure the release 

10 of Mr. Noorah. 

11 (3) On June 17, 2017, while awaiting trial for 

12 indictments of manslaughter, felony hit-and-run, and 

13 reckless driving, Mr. Noorah arrived in Saudi Arabia 

14 from Oregon, despite having surrendered his Saudi 

15 passport to Oregon law enforcement authorities. 

16 (4) Officials from the Department of Homeland 

17 Security and the United States Marshals Service 

18 have publicly revealed that the Government of Saudi 

19 Arabia likely played a role in Mr. Noorah’s repatri20 ation back to Saudi Arabia. 

21 (5) The Saudi consulate in Los Angeles is re22 ported to have posted bond for at least 4 additional 

23 Saudi nationals: Abdulaziz Al Duways, Waleed Ali 

24 Alharthi, Suliman Ali Algwaiz, and Ali Hussain 

25 Alhamoud, who— 


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1 (A) were charged with serious criminal of2 fenses in Oregon, beginning in 2012; 

3 (B) fled from the custody of law enforce4 ment authorities; and 

5 (C) are still at large. 

6 (6) The Saudi consulate in Los Angeles posted 

7 a $100,000 bond for Ali Hussain Alhamoud, a Saudi 

8 national, who subsequently fled Oregon for Saudi 

9 Arabia in 2012 before facing trial on multiple sex10 crime charges, including rape in the first degree. 

11 (7) Saudi national and Portland University stu12 dent, Suliman Ali Algwaiz, faced charges in 2016 for 

13 striking a homeless man with his vehicle, but he dis14 appeared before completing his jail sentence. 

15 (8) The Saudi consulate posted a $500,000 se16 curity deposit for Waleed Ali Alharthi, an Oregon 

17 State University student and Saudi national, who 

18 was arrested in 2015 on 10 counts of encouraging 

19 child sex abuse before fleeing to Paris, France, in 

20 the midst of court hearings. 

21 (9) The Saudi consulate posted a $500,000 

22 bond for Abdulaziz Al Duways, a Western Oregon 

23 University Student and Saudi national, who was ar24 rested in 2014 on the charge of rape, but subseVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Feb 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S231.IS S231

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1 quently disappeared before standing trial for the 

2 charge. 

3 (10) Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on 

4 Diplomatic Relations, done at Vienna April 18, 

5 1961, states— 

6 (A) ‘‘it is the duty of all persons enjoying 

7 [diplomatic] privileges and immunities to re8 spect the laws and regulations of the receiving 

9 State’’; and 

10 (B) such persons ‘‘also have a duty to not 

11 interfere in the internal affairs of that State’’. 

12 (11) The Government of Saudi Arabia’s flaunt13 ing of international norms and diplomatic law fol14 lows a pattern of disturbing behavior, including— 

15 (A) the brutal murder of Washington Post 

16 contributor and United States resident Jamal 

17 Khashoggi in a Saudi Arabia consulate in 

18 Istanbul, Turkey; 

19 (B) the jailing of prominent women rights 

20 activists, Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sada, 

21 and the ongoing detention of countless others, 

22 such as blogger Raif Badawi and human rights 

23 lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair; 

24 (C) failing to avoid civilian casualties in its 

25 use of military force in the Yemeni civil war; 


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1 (D) the shakedown of Saudi royals in the 

2 Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and 

3 (E) the detention of the Lebanese Prime 

4 Minister, Saad al-Hariri, against his will. 

5 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

6 It is the sense of Congress that— 

7 (1) the Secretary of State should engage with 

8 the highest levels of the Government of Saudi Arabia 

9 to advocate for the immediate extradition of Mr. 

10 Noorah, Mr. Alhamoud, and any other Saudi na11 tional or citizen charged with a criminal offense 

12 committed in the United States back to the appro13 priate authorities in the United States; 

14 (2) the apparent involvement of the Govern15 ment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the removal 

16 of Mr. Noorah violates Oregon Statute 162.325, 

17 which prohibits providing a person with money, 

18 transportation, weapon, disguise, or any other means 

19 of avoiding discovery or apprehension, and should be 

20 condemned; 

21 (3) the Attorney General, in coordination with 

22 relevant Federal and State authorities, should inves23 tigate— 

24 (A) whether any Saudi diplomat or agent 

25 of the Government of Saudi Arabia— 


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1 (i) furnished Mr. Noorah with a 

2 fraudulent passport; or 

3 (ii) assisted him in traveling to Saudi 

4 Arabia on or before June 17, 2018; and 

5 (B) the degree to which any party or par6 ties assisted in the removal of Mr. Alhamoud 

7 from Oregon to Saudi Arabia in 2012; 

8 (4) the President should declare any individual 

9 enjoying diplomatic or consular immunity who pro10 tected a party from the criminal jurisdiction of the 

11 United States as a ‘‘persona non grata’’; and 

12 (5) the Department of State should not accredit 

13 any Saudi diplomat to serve in the Saudi consulate 

14 in Los Angeles until— 

15 (A) Abdhulrahman Noorah and Ali 

16 Hussain Alhamoud are returned to the United 

17 States to face criminal charges brought against 

18 them; and 

19 (B) the United States finds no reasonable 

20 cause to conclude that a Saudi diplomat or 

21 agent of the Saudi government aided in the 

22 transport of either individual back to Saudi 

23 Arabia. 


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1 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap3 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

4 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

5 Senate; 

6 (2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen7 ate; 

8 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

9 House of Representatives; and 

10 (4) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

11 House of Representatives. 

12 (b) REPORT.— 

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

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

15 of State shall submit a report to the appropriate 

16 congressional committees that describes the degree 

17 to which any citizen of the Kingdom of Saudi Ara18 bia, who enjoys diplomatic immunity from criminal 

19 jurisdiction in the United States, has assisted in the 

20 removal of any Saudi citizen in the United States 

21 for the purposes of evading criminal prosecution. 

22 (2) FORM.—The report required under para23 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form. 

24 (c) REPORT ON CASES INVOLVING DIPLOMATIC IM25 MUNITY.—Any conclusions reached during the preparation 

26 of the report required under subsection (b) shall be inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:43 Feb 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S231.IS S231

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1 cluded in the 2018 Report on Cases Involving Diplomatic 

2 Immunity pursuant to sections 56 and 204B of the State 

3 Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 

4 2728 and 4303b). 

5 SEC. 5. RESTRICTION ON FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OWNER6 SHIP OF REAL PROPERTY IN THE UNITED 

7 STATES. 

8 Section 205(b) of the State Department Basic Au9 thorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 4305(b)) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and 

11 (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively, 

12 and by moving such subparagraphs 2 ems to the 

13 right; 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) EVADING PROSECUTION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Real property in the 

20 United States may not be maintained by any 

21 foreign mission of a foreign country if the Sec22 retary of State, after consultation with the At23 torney General, determines that such foreign 

24 mission has aided in the removal of a citizen or 

25 national of its country from the United States 


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1 with the effect of evading the prosecution of 

2 such citizen or national for 1 or more criminal 

3 offenses committed in the United States. 

4 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The President may waive 

5 the application of subparagraph (A) if, not later 

6 than 60 days after the submission of the report 

7 required under section (4)(b) of the ESCAPE 

8 of Saudi Nationals Act, the President des9 ignates each individual identified in such report 

10 as enjoying diplomatic or consular immunity 

11 who protected a party from the criminal juris12 diction of the United States as a persona non 

13 grata.’’. 

Æ 


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