II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1075 

To advocate for the release of United States citizens and locally employed 

diplomatic staff unlawfully detained in Turkey, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 9, 2019 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. DURBIN, 

and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To advocate for the release of United States citizens and 

locally employed diplomatic staff unlawfully detained in 

Turkey, 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 ‘‘Defending United 

5 States Citizens and Diplomatic Staff from Political Pros6 ecutions Act of 2019’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The United States Government employs 

2 thousands of local nationals (in this Act referred to 

3 as ‘‘locally employed staff’’) at its diplomatic mis4 sions, military bases, and other official facilities 

5 around the world, generating employment and eco6 nomic opportunities in local economies and allowing 

7 the United States Government to benefit from local 

8 expertise and perspectives. 

9 (2) Since February 2017, the Government of 

10 Turkey—a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Or11 ganization (in this Act referred to as ‘‘NATO’’) 

12 since 1952—has targeted at least 3 locally employed 

13 staff of United States consulates in Turkey with na14 tional security charges stemming from their routine 

15 job responsibilities on behalf of the United States 

16 Government and without providing any credible evi17 dence of wrongdoing. 

18 (3) As NATO allies, the United States and 

19 Turkey share a commitment to ‘‘safeguard the free20 dom, common heritage and civilization of their peo21 ples, founded on the principles of democracy, indi22 vidual liberty and the rule of law’’, as enshrined in 

23 the preamble to the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty. 

24 (4) Authorities in Turkey detained Hamza 

25 Uluc ̧ay—an employee of the United States ConVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1075.IS S1075

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1 sulate in Adana for more than 38 years—for nearly 

2 2 years and convicted him of ‘‘membership in a ter3 rorist organization’’ without any credible evidence of 

4 wrongdoing before releasing him on January 30, 

5 2019, and barring him from international travel. 

6 (5) Authorities in Turkey have detained Metin 

7 Topuz—a Foreign Service National Investigator at 

8 the United States Consulate General in Istanbul for 

9 more than 36 years—since September 25, 2017, on 

10 charges of ‘‘membership in a terrorist organization’’, 

11 ‘‘gathering state secrets for espionage’’, and ‘‘at12 tempting to overthrow [the Government, Turkish 

13 National Assembly, and the Constitutional Order]’’, 

14 citing among other things his routine communica15 tions with Turkish law enforcement officers, which 

16 constituted a central part of his job responsibilities 

17 as an employee of the United States Government. 

18 (6) Authorities in Turkey have held Mete 

19 Canturk—another Foreign Service National Investi20 gator at the United States Consulate General in 

21 Istanbul for more than 30 years—under house ar22 rest since January 31, 2018, and subjected his wife 

23 and daughter to travel bans and regular check-ins 

24 with police after initially detaining them. 


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1 (7) As of April 9, 2019, Metin Topuz remains 

2 in jail, Mete Canturk remains under house arrest, 

3 and Hamza Uluc ̧ay remains convicted of false 

4 charges and subject to travel restrictions because of 

5 charges relating directly to the conduct of their pro6 fessional responsibilities as employees of the United 

7 States Government without any credible evidence of 

8 wrongdoing. 

9 (8) The physical and psychological health of 

10 these men continues to be adversely affected by their 

11 prolonged and indefinite detention, including signifi12 cant weight loss and aggravation of preexisting med13 ical conditions. 

14 (9) On November 15, 2017, then-Deputy As15 sistant Secretary of State for European and Eur16 asian Affairs Jonathan Cohen testified to the Com17 mission on Security and Cooperation in Europe 

18 (commonly known as the ‘‘Helsinki Commission’’) 

19 that ‘‘it appears to us that Mr. Uluc ̧ay and Mr. 

20 Topuz were arrested for maintaining legitimate con21 tacts with Turkish Government and local officials 

22 and others in the context of their official duties on 

23 behalf of the United States Government’’. 

24 (10) In pursuing its legitimate right to bring to 

25 justice the perpetrators of the failed July 2016 coup 


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1 attempt, Turkish authorities have subjected tens of 

2 thousands of other citizens of Turkey to detention 

3 and criminal prosecutions, with some subjected to 

4 official harassment based on specious claims and 

5 guilt by association, reflecting a significant deterio6 ration in the respect of the Government of Turkey 

7 for the rule of law and the human rights of its peo8 ple. 

9 (11) United States citizen and National Aero10 nautics and Space Administration physicist Dr. 

Serkan Go ̈lge has spent more than 21 11 ⁄2 years in jail 

12 in Turkey and is currently serving a 5-year sentence 

13 on national security charges without any credible 

14 evidence of wrongdoing. 

15 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

16 It is the sense of Congress that— 

17 (1) the Government of Turkey should imme18 diately release all wrongfully detained locally em19 ployed staff of United States diplomatic missions 

20 and citizens of the United States in Turkey and re21 solve such cases in a timely, fair, and transparent 

22 manner; 

23 (2) the United States has a moral obligation to 

24 forcefully advocate for the release of wrongfully de25 tained locally employed staff who endure arrest, deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1075.IS S1075

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1 tention, prosecution, and imprisonment because of 

2 the personal risk they often assume to themselves, 

3 their families, and their communities as a result of 

4 their work for and affiliation with the United States 

5 Government; 

6 (3) it is in the national security interest of the 

7 United States to advocate for the safety and security 

8 of all employees of the United States Government 

9 overseas because any failure to do so emboldens 

10 other foreign governments to interfere with United 

11 States diplomatic, military, and other missions 

12 around the world; and 

13 (4) the President should— 

14 (A) press the Government of Turkey, in 

15 coordination with NATO allies, in all high-level 

16 bilateral and multilateral fora to immediately 

17 release wrongfully detained locally employed 

18 staff and citizens of the United States and to 

19 resolve their cases in a timely, fair, and trans20 parent manner; 

21 (B) urge the Government of Turkey, in co22 ordination with NATO allies, to restore demo23 cratic norms and respect for the rule of law and 

24 the human rights of all citizens of Turkey by 

25 ceasing all arbitrary or politically motivated 


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1 prosecutions, detentions, and dismissals, and by 

2 undertaking meaningful reforms to ensure the 

3 independence of the judiciary in Turkey; 

4 (C) consider, in coordination with NATO 

5 allies, in order to secure the prompt release of 

6 wrongfully detained locally employed staff and 

7 citizens of the United States in Turkey, re8 scinding accreditations to a commensurate 

9 number of diplomats from the Embassy of Tur10 key to the United States; and 

11 (D) support the extension of special immi12 grant visas to Hamza Uluc ̧ay, Metin Topuz, 

13 and Mete Canturk and their immediate families 

14 in recognition of their distinguished service to 

15 the United States under exceptional cir16 cumstances. 

17 SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

18 WRONGFUL DETENTION OF LOCALLY EM19 PLOYED STAFF AND UNITED STATES CITI20 ZENS IN TURKEY. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the 

22 sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to any 

23 senior official of the Government of Turkey the President 

24 determines, based on credible evidence, is, on or after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act, responsible for the 


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1 wrongful and prolonged detention of locally employed staff 

2 of United States diplomatic missions or citizens of the 

3 United States in Turkey. 

4 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions to be 

5 imposed under subsection (a) with respect to an official 

6 described in that subsection are the following: 

7 (1) INADMISSIBILITY TO UNITED STATES.—In8 eligibility to receive a visa to enter the United States 

9 or to be admitted to the United States or, if the offi10 cial has been issued a visa or other documentation, 

11 revocation, in accordance with section 221(i) of the 

12 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), 

13 of the visa or other documentation. 

14 (2) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The blocking and pro16 hibiting, in accordance with the International 

17 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 

18 1701 et seq.), of all transactions in all property 

19 and interests in property of the official if such 

20 property and interests in property are in the 

21 United States, come within the United States, 

22 or are or come within the possession or control 

23 of a United States person. 

24 (B) INAPPLICABILITY OF NATIONAL EMER25 GENCY REQUIREMENT.—The requirements of 


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1 section 202 of the International Emergency 

2 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701) shall 

3 not apply for purposes of this paragraph. 

4 (c) EXCEPTIONS.— 

5 (1) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA6 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT AND LAW EN7 FORCEMENT OBJECTIVES.—Sanctions under sub8 section (b)(1) shall not apply to an individual if ad9 mitting the individual into the United States would 

10 further important law enforcement objectives or is 

11 necessary to permit the United Nations Head12 quarters Agreement or other applicable international 

13 obligations of the United States. 

14 (2) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF

15 GOODS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The authority to block 

17 and prohibit all transactions in all property and 

18 interests in property under subsection (b)(2) 

19 shall not include the authority to impose sanc20 tions on the importation of goods. 

21 (B) GOOD.—In this paragraph, the term 

22 ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or man-made 

23 substance, material, supply or manufactured 

24 product, including inspection and test equip25 ment, and excluding technical data. 


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1 (d) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

2 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex3 ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 

4 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 

5 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out 

6 this section. 

7 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at8 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

9 violation of subsection (b)(2) or any regulation, li10 cense, or order issued to carry out that subsection 

11 shall be subject to the penalties set forth in sub12 sections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter13 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

14 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that 

15 commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) 

16 of that section. 

17 (e) NATIONAL SECURITY WAIVER.—The President 

18 may waive the application of sanctions under this section 

19 with respect to an individual if the President determines 

20 and reports to the appropriate congressional committees 

21 and leadership that the waiver is in the vital national secu22 rity interests of the United States. 

23 (f) TERMINATION.—The requirement to impose sanc24 tions under this section shall terminate on the date on 


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1 which the President determines and reports to the appro2 priate congressional committees and leadership that— 

3 (1) all locally employed staff of United States 

4 diplomatic missions and citizens of the United 

5 States wrongfully detained by the Government of 

6 Turkey have been released from detention; and 

7 (2) locally employed staff of United States dip8 lomatic missions and citizens of the United States 

9 are not subject to travel restrictions imposed by the 

10 Government of Turkey. 

11 SEC. 5. REPORT REQUIRED. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 120 days 

14 thereafter, the President shall submit to the appropriate 

15 congressional committees and leadership a report that in16 cludes the following: 

17 (1) Information related to the wrongful and 

18 prolonged detention by the Government of Turkey of 

19 locally employed staff of United States diplomatic 

20 missions and citizens of the United States, includ21 ing— 

22 (A) their status within the judicial system 

23 in Turkey; 


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1 (B) where applicable, the dates of their de2 tention, arrest, indictment, trials, and convic3 tions; 

4 (C) a description of the access the Govern5 ment of Turkey grants to representatives of the 

6 United States Government to the detained indi7 viduals and their families; 

8 (D) a description of the detention condi9 tions in which the detained individuals are held; 

10 (E) a description of the ways in which the 

11 United States Government is providing finan12 cial, legal, or other assistance to the detained 

13 locally employed staff and their families; and 

14 (F) a description of United States Govern15 ment engagement with the Government of Tur16 key to secure the release of the detained indi17 viduals. 

18 (2) A list of the officials identified by the Presi19 dent pursuant to section 4(a). 

20 (3) A list of any waivers exercised by the Presi21 dent under section 4(e), and the justification for 

22 each such waiver. 

23 (b) FORM; PUBLICATION.— 


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1 (1) FORM.—The report required by paragraph 

2 (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may 

3 contain a classified annex as necessary. 

4 (2) PUBLICATION.—The unclassified portion of 

5 the report required by paragraph (1) shall be posted 

6 on a publicly available internet website of the De7 partment of State. 

8 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) ADMISSION; ADMITTED.—The terms ‘‘ad11 mission’’ and ‘‘admitted’’ have the meanings given 

12 those terms in section 101 of the Immigration and 

13 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

14 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT15 TEES AND LEADERSHIP.—The term ‘‘appropriate 

16 congressional committees and leadership’’ means— 

17 (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

18 and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Foreign 

19 Relations, the Committee on Appropriations, 

20 and the majority and minority leaders of the 

21 Senate; and 

22 (B) the Committee on Financial Services, 

23 the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Com24 mittee on Appropriations, and the Speaker, the 


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1 majority leader, and the minority leader of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 (3) UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREE4 MENT.—The term ‘‘United Nations Headquarters 

5 Agreement’’ means the Agreement regarding the 

6 Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 

7 Success June 26, 1947. 

8 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

9 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

10 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law11 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

12 United States; or 

13 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

14 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

15 United States, including a foreign branch of 

16 such an entity. 

Æ 


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