MAHSA Act
Bill: H.R.9203 | Sponsor: Rep. Banks, Jim (R-IN)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Mahsa Amini Human rights and Security Accountability Act or the MAHSA Act
This bill requires the President to impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions on certain persons (individuals and entities) affiliated with Iran.
The President must make determinations about whether certain existing sanctions apply to specified persons and impose the applicable sanctions, including determinations concerning (1) the Supreme Leader of Iran and any official in the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran, (2) the President of Iran and any official in the Office of the President of Iran, and (3) any entity overseen by the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran which is complicit in supporting human rights abuses or terrorism.

To impose sanctions on the Supreme Leader of Iran and the President of 
 Iran and their respective offices for human rights abuses and support 
                             for terrorism.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mahsa Amini Human rights and 
Security Accountability Act'' or the ``MAHSA Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER'S OFFICE, ITS 
              APPOINTEES, AND ANY AFFILIATED PERSONS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Supreme Leader is an institution of the Islamic 
        Republic of Iran.
            (2) The Supreme Leader holds ultimate authority over Iran's 
        judiciary and security apparatus, including the Ministry of 
        Intelligence and Security, law enforcement forces under the 
        Interior Ministry, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 
        (IRGC), and the Basij, a nationwide volunteer paramilitary 
        group subordinate to the IRGC, all of which have engaged in 
        human rights abuses in Iran. Additionally the IRGC, a United 
        States designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, which reports 
        to the Supreme Leader, continues to perpetrate terrorism around 
        the globe, including attempts to kill and kidnap American 
        citizens on United States soil.
            (3) The Supreme Leader appoints the head of Iran's 
        judiciary. International observers continue to criticize the 
        lack of independence of Iran's judicial system and maintained 
        that trials disregarded international standards of fairness.
            (4) The revolutionary courts, created by Iran's former 
        Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, within Iran's judiciary, are 
        chiefly responsible for hearing cases of political offenses, 
        operate in parallel to Iran's criminal justice system and 
        routinely hold grossly unfair trials without due process, 
        handing down predetermined verdicts and rubberstamping 
        executions for political purpose.
            (5) The Iranian security and law enforcement forces engage 
        in serious human rights abuse at the behest of the Supreme 
        Leader.
            (6) Iran's President, Ebrahim Raisi, sits at the helm of 
        the most sanctioned cabinet in Iranian history which includes 
        internationally sanctioned rights violators. Raisi has 
        supported the recent crackdown on protestors and is rights 
        violator himself, having served on a ``death commission'' in 
        1988 that led to the execution of several thousand political 
        prisoners in Iran. He most recently served as the head of 
        Iran's judiciary, a position appointed by Iran's current 
        Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and may likely be a potential 
        candidate to replace Khamenei as Iran's next Supreme Leader.
            (7) On September 16th, 2022, 22-year-old woman, Mahsa 
        Amini, died in the detention of the Morality Police after being 
        beaten and detained for allegedly transgressing discriminatory 
        dress codes for women. This tragic incident triggered 
        widespread, pro-women's rights, pro-democracy protests across 
        all of Iran's 31 provinces, calling for the end to Iran's 
        theocratic regime.
            (8) In the course of the protests, the Iranian security 
        forces' violent crackdown includes mass arrests, well 
        documented beating of protestors, throttling of the internet 
        and telecommunications services, and shooting protestors with 
        live ammunition. Five weeks into the protests, Iranian security 
        forces have reportedly killed hundreds of protestors and other 
        civilians, including women and children, and wounded many more.
            (9) Iran's Supreme Leader is the leader of the ``Axis of 
        Resistance'', which is a network of Tehran's terror proxy and 
        partner militias material supported by the Islamic 
        Revolutionary Guard Corps that targets the United States as 
        well as its allies and partners.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States shall stand with and support the 
        people of Iran in their demand for fundamental human rights; 
        and
            (2) the United States shall continue to hold the Islamic 
        Republic of Iran, particularly the Supreme Leader and 
        President, accountable for abuses of human rights, corruption, 
        and export of terrorism.
    (c) In General.--
            (1) Determination required.--Not later than 90 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall 
        determine whether the sanctions listed in paragraph (2) apply 
        with respect to each person and entity described in subsection 
        (d), and impose all applicable such sanctions with respect to 
        each such person and entity.
            (2) Sanctions listed.--The sanctions listed in this 
        paragraph are the following:
                    (A) Sanctions described in section 105(c) of the 
                Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and 
                Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514(c)).
                    (B) Sanctions applicable with respect to a person 
                pursuant to Executive Order 13553 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; 
                relating to blocking property of certain persons with 
                respect to serious human rights abuses by the 
                Government of Iran).
                    (C) Sanctions applicable with respect to a person 
                pursuant to Executive Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; 
                relating to blocking property and prohibiting 
                transactions with persons who commit, threaten to 
                commit, or support terrorism).
                    (D) Sanctions applicable with respect to a person 
                pursuant to Executive Order 13818 (relating to blocking 
                the property of persons involved in serious human 
                rights abuse or corruption).
                    (E) Penalties and visa bans applicable with respect 
                to a person pursuant to section 7031(c) of the 
                Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related 
                Programs Appropriations Act, 2021.
    (d) Persons Described.--The persons described in this subsection 
are the following:
            (1) The Supreme Leader of Iran and any official in the 
        Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran.
            (2) The President of Iran and any official in the Office of 
        the President of Iran or the President's cabinet, including 
        cabinet ministers and executive vice presidents.
            (3) Any entity, including foundations and economic 
        conglomerates, overseen by the Office of the Supreme Leader of 
        Iran which is complicit in financing or resourcing of human 
        rights abuses or support for terrorism.
            (4) Any official of any entity owned or controlled by the 
        Supreme Leader of Iran or the Office of the Supreme Leader of 
        Iran.
            (5) Any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, 
        in consultation with or at the recommendation of the Secretary 
        of State--
                    (A) to be a person appointed by the Supreme Leader 
                of Iran, the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran, the 
                President of Iran, or the Office of the President of 
                Iran to a position as a state official of Iran, or as 
                the head of any entity located in Iran or any entity 
                located outside of Iran that is owned or controlled by 
                one or more entities in Iran;
                    (B) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or 
                provided financial, material, or technological support 
                for, or goods or services to or in support of any 
                person whose property and interests in property are 
                blocked pursuant to this section;
                    (C) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted 
                or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or 
                indirectly any person whose property and interests in 
                property are blocked pursuant to this section; or
                    (D) to be a member of the board of directors or a 
                senior executive officer of any person whose property 
                and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this 
                section.
    (e) Congressional Oversight.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after receiving a 
        request from the chairman and ranking member of one of the 
        appropriate congressional committees with respect to whether a 
        person meets the criteria of a person described in subsection 
        (d)(5), the President shall--
                    (A) determine if the person meets such criteria; 
                and
                    (B) submit a classified or unclassified report to 
                such chairman and ranking member with respect to such 
                determination that includes a statement of whether or 
                not the President imposed or intends to impose 
                sanctions with respect to the person pursuant to this 
                section.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate.
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