IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 111 
Calling on the Government of Iran to immediately release Saeed Abedini 
and all other individuals detained on account of their religious beliefs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 13, 2015 
Mr. PITTENGER (for himself, Mr. WALKER, Mr. VARGAS, and Ms. FRANKEL 
of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Calling on the Government of Iran to immediately release 
Saeed Abedini and all other individuals detained on ac-
count of their religious beliefs. 
Whereas, in September 2012, Saeed Abedini, a resident of 
the State of Idaho and a minority Christian with dual 
Iranian-United States citizenship, was arbitrarily de-
tained in the Islamic Republic of Iran, held in solitary 
confinement, physically beaten, denied access to nec-
essary medical treatment as a result of that abuse, and 
denied access to his lawyer until just before his trial; 
Whereas, in January 2013, an Iranian court accused Saeed 
Abedini of attempting to undermine the national security 
of Iran by gathering with fellow Christians in private 
homes; 
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•HRES 111 IH 
Whereas Saeed Abedini was tried in a non-public trial before 
a judge who had been sanctioned by the European Union 
for repeated violations of human rights, including issuing 
long prison sentences to peaceful protestors following the 
2009 election; 
Whereas, during the trial, Saeed Abedini and his Iranian at-
torney were barred from attending portions of the trial 
in which the prosecution provided and the judge received 
evidence through witness testimony; 
Whereas the Iranian court sentenced Saeed Abedini to 8 
years in prison; 
Whereas, in August 2013, the 36th branch of the Tehran ap-
peals court denied Saeed Abedini’s appeal and affirmed 
his 8-year sentence; 
Whereas the Government of Iran continues to indefinitely im-
prison Saeed Abedini for peacefully exercising his faith; 
Whereas the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights declares that every individual has ‘‘the right to 
freedom of thought, conscience and religion’’, which in-
cludes the ‘‘freedom to change his religion or belief, and 
freedom, either alone or in community with others and in 
public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in 
teaching, practice, worship and observance’’, and the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
echoes that declaration; 
Whereas the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights holds that every individual shall be free from arbi-
trary arrest and detention, and that every individual 
bears the right to have adequate time and facilities for 
the preparation of his defense and to be present during 
the duration of his trial; 
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•HRES 111 IH 
Whereas the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights further guarantees every individual the right to a 
fair and public hearing by a competent, independent, and 
impartial tribunal; 
Whereas Iran is a member of the United Nations and a sig-
natory to both the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Polit-
ical Rights without reservation; 
Whereas articles 13 and 23 through 27 of the Constitution 
of the Islamic Republic of Iran provide for freedom of ex-
pression, assembly, and association, as well as the free-
dom to practice one’s religion; 
Whereas Iran is a religiously diverse society and the United 
Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human 
Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran reports that reli-
gious minorities, including Nematullahi Sufi Muslims, 
Sunnis, Baha’is, and Christians, face human rights viola-
tions in Iran; 
Whereas, in recent years, there has been an increase in the 
number of incidents of Iranian authorities raiding reli-
gious services, detaining worshipers and religious leaders, 
and harassing and threatening minority religious mem-
bers; 
Whereas the United Nations Special Rapporteur reports that 
Iranian intelligence officials are known to threaten Chris-
tian converts with arrest and apostasy charges if they do 
not return to Islam; 
Whereas the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary 
Detention found that Iran has arbitrarily detained Saeed 
Abedini in violation of its international human rights ob-
ligations and ordered his immediate release; and 
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•HRES 111 IH 
Whereas President Barack Obama has demonstrated his per-
sonal commitment to the case of Saeed Abedini by meet-
ing with his family and has called on President Hassan 
Rouhani to demonstrate the commitment of Iran to indi-
vidual human rights through the release of all prisoners 
of conscience: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes that freedom of religious belief 
and practice is a universal human right and a fun-
damental freedom of every individual, regardless of 
race, sex, country, creed, or nationality, and should 
never be arbitrarily abridged by any government; 
(2) recognizes that governments have a respon-
sibility to protect the fundamental rights of their 
citizens; and 
(3) calls on the Government of Iran to imme-
diately release Saeed Abedini and all other individ-
uals detained on account of their religious beliefs. 
Æ 
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