•HRES 414 IH 
exile in January 2001 but his sentence was subsequently 
reduced to six months in prison by an appeals court in 
May 2001; 
Whereas in July 2001 the Iranian Supreme Court overturned 
the appeals court ruling on technical grounds and sen-
tenced Ali Akbar Ganji to six years in jail for ‘‘threat-
ening national security’’ and ‘‘propaganda against the in-
stitutions of the Islamic Republic’’ of Iran; 
Whereas Ali Akbar Ganji is held incommunicado, reportedly 
in solitary confinement at the infamous Evin Prison, 
where he suffers from asthma and serious back problems 
and until recently had been denied access to adequate 
medical treatment; 
Whereas it is alleged that Ali Akbar Ganji has been beaten 
during his imprisonment and international human rights 
organizations remain concerned that he is at risk of being 
subjected to further torture or ill treatment; 
Whereas President George W. Bush has called for the Gov-
ernment of Iran to unconditionally release Ali Akbar 
Ganji and allow him access to medical assistance; 
Whereas the United States Congress has repeatedly expressed 
its condemnation of arbitrary and inhumane practices 
utilized by the Government of Iran in order to silence 
peaceful critics among its own people; 
Whereas the Iranian people aspire to democracy, civil, polit-
ical, and religious rights, and the rule of law, as evi-
denced by anti-government demonstrations within Iran 
and by statements of numerous Iranian expatriates and 
dissidents;
•HRES 414 IH 
Whereas the Government of Iran exercises torture and cruel 
and inhuman punishment, including flogging, stoning, 
and the use of public hangings; 
Whereas judicial verdicts in Iran are often delivered without 
due process of law; 
Whereas the situation of freedom of expression in Iran con-
tinues to deteriorate as dissidents are arrested and de-
tained without charge or trial solely for peaceful dem-
onstrations and criticism of the authorities; and 
Whereas Ali Akbar Ganji, in particular, and the people of 
Iran, in general, deserve the support of the United 
States: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That— 
(1) the House of Representatives— 
(A) unequivocally condemns the imprison-
ment of Mr. Ali Akbar Ganji, a prisoner of con-
science, by the Government of Iran, calls for his 
immediate release, and denounces the consistent 
pattern of gross violations of internationally 
recognized human rights by the Iranian regime; 
and 
(B) calls upon United States allies, the 
United Nations, and the international commu-
nity to publicly condemn the Government of 
Iran for the continuing imprisonment of Ali 
Akbar Ganji and other violations of internation-
ally recognized human rights; and
•HRES 414 IH 
(2) it is the sense of the House of Representa-
tives that— 
(A) the Government of Iran should end all 
acts of harassment and arbitrary detention 
against all peaceful Iranian dissidents and 
human rights defenders and conform with the 
provisions of the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights and all other international 
agreements and obligations to which Iran is a 
party; and 
(B) it should be the policy of the United 
States to support independent human rights 
dissidents and pro-democracy advocates in Iran 
and promote the emergence of a democratic 
form of government in Iran that will restore 
freedom to the Iranian people, abandon ter-
rorism, abandon the development, proliferation, 
and possession of nuclear, biological, and chem-
ical weapons, and live in peace and security 
with the international community. 
Æ