IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 187 

Calling for the unconditional release of United States citizens and legal 

permanent resident aliens being held for political purposes by the Government of Iran. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2019 

Mr. DEUTCH (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. 

SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. CONNOLLY, and 

Mr. CHABOT) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for the unconditional release of United States citizens 

and legal permanent resident aliens being held for political purposes by the Government of Iran. 

Whereas Iran has taken as hostages several United States 

citizens, including Siamak and Baquer Namazi and Xiyue 

Wang, as well as United States legal permanent resident, 

Nizar Zakka, among others; 

Whereas Siamak Namazi was detained on October 15, 2015, 

falsely accused, and convicted on October 18, 2016, for 

‘‘collaborating with a hostile government’’ and has been 

held for extended periods in solitary confinement and 

under constant interrogation; 


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•HRES 187 IH 

Whereas former UNICEF official Baquer Namazi, the 80- 

year old father of Siamak Namazi, was detained on February 22, 2016, falsely accused, and sentenced to 10 

years in prison for the same crime as his son; 

Whereas former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kimoon urged Iranian authorities to release Baquer 

Namazi, whose health status is deteriorating, to allow his 

family to care for him; 

Whereas UNICEF has issued four public statements on 

Baquer Namazi’s behalf; 

Whereas Xiyue Wang, a graduate student at Princeton University, was arrested in Iran on or about August 7, 2016, 

while studying Farsi and researching the late Qajar dynasty as background for his doctoral dissertation, detained by Iran in Evin prison for almost a year, falsely 

charged with espionage, and sentenced to 10 years in 

prison; 

Whereas Robert Levinson, a United States citizen and retired 

agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, traveled to 

Kish Island, Iran, and disappeared on March 9, 2007; 

Whereas the United States Government had ‘‘secured a commitment from the Iranians to try and gather information 

about Mr. Levinson’s possible whereabouts’’ but has not 

received any information thus far; 

Whereas, on November 23, 2016, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Iran 

was responsible for the arbitrary detention of Robert 

Levinson; 

Whereas Nizar Zakka, a United States legal permanent resident alien and Lebanese national, who is also in a weakened physical state, was unlawfully detained on or about 


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•HRES 187 IH 

September 18, 2015, after presenting at a conference in 

Iran at Iran’s invitation, and was later falsely charged 

with being a spy and sentenced to 10 years at the Evin 

prison; 

Whereas, on April 13, 2017, the Department of the Treasury 

sanctioned the Tehran Prisons Organization and its 

former head, Sohrab Soleimani, and White House Press 

Secretary Sean Spicer noted ‘‘The sanctions against 

human rights abusers in Iran’s prisons come at a time 

when Iran continues to unjustly detain in its prisons various foreigners, including U.S. citizens Siamak Namazi 

and Baquer Namazi’’; 

Whereas, on April 25, 2017, at the meeting of the Joint 

Commission overseeing implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Department of State reported that the United States delegation had ‘‘raised with 

the Iranian delegation its serious concerns regarding the 

cases of U.S. citizens detained and missing in Iran, and 

called on Iran to immediately release these U.S. citizens 

so they can be reunited with their families’’; 

Whereas, on July 21, 2017, the White House released a 

statement stating that ‘‘President Donald J. Trump and 

his Administration are redoubling efforts to bring home 

all Americans unjustly detained abroad, ‘and are’ prepared to impose new and serious consequences on Iran 

unless all unjustly imprisoned American citizens are released and returned.’’; 

Whereas, on December 3, 2018, the families of Robert 

Levinson, Baquer and Siamak Namazi, and Nizar Zakka 

joined with the families of other foreign nationals held in 

Iran in sending an open letter to the international community calling for the release of their family members; 


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•HRES 187 IH 

Whereas according to Jason Rezaian, a former Washington 

Post Tehran correspondent who was unjustly imprisoned 

in Iran for 544 days, hostage-taking ‘‘in recent years became a key tool of domestic influence for the Revolutionary Guard’’; and 

Whereas Iranian media has reportedly quoted officials who 

have indicated that the Government of Iran is seeking 

additional payments or other concessions, including relief 

from economic sanctions, from the families of hostages 

and their governments as a condition of release, a practice banned by the 1979 International Convention 

Against the Taking of Hostages and other international 

legal norms: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) calls on the Government of the Islamic Re3 public of Iran to release unconditionally Siamak 

4 Namazi, Baquer Namazi, Xiyue Wang, Nizar Zakka, 

5 and any other United States citizen, legal permanent 

6 resident alien, or foreign national being unjustly de7 tained in Iran; 

8 (2) urges the President to make the release of 

9 United States citizens and legal permanent resident 

10 aliens held hostage by the Government of Iran the 

11 highest of priorities; 

12 (3) requests that the United States and its al13 lies whose nationals have been detained consider es14 tablishing a multinational task force to secure the 

15 release of the detainees; 


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•HRES 187 IH 

1 (4) urges the Government of Iran to take mean2 ingful steps towards fulfilling its repeated promises 

3 to assist in locating and returning Robert Levinson, 

4 including immediately providing all available infor5 mation from all entities of the Government of Iran 

6 regarding the disappearance of Robert Levinson to 

7 the United States Government; 

8 (5) encourages the President to take meaning9 ful action to secure the release of Siamak Namazi, 

10 Baquer Namazi, Xiyue Wang, Nizar Zakka, and any 

11 other United States citizen, legal permanent resident 

12 alien, or foreign national being unjustly detained in 

13 Iran if the Government of Iran does not release such 

14 United States citizens, legal permanent resident 

15 aliens, and foreign nationals; and 

16 (6) encourages the President to take meaning17 ful action to secure the return of Robert Levinson 

18 if the Government of Iran does not locate and return 

19 him. 

Æ 


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