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H.Res. 556 (112th): Condemning the Government of Iran for its continued persecution, imprisonment, and sentencing of Youcef Nadarkhani on the charge of apostasy.
- Introduced:
- Feb 17, 2012 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
- Sponsor:
- Rep. Joseph Pitts [R-PA16]
- Status:
- Agreed To (Simple Resolution)
The resolution’s title was written by the resolution’s sponsor. H.Res. stands for House simple resolution.
- Summary
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No summaries available.
- Text
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Last updated Mar 01, 2012.
4 pages
- Primary Source
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View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)
GovTrack gets most information from THOMAS, which is updated generally one day after events occur. Activity since the last update may not be reflected here.
- Citation
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Library of Congress Summary
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
3/1/2012--Passed House amended.
Condemns Iran for its systemic violations of the human rights of the Iranian people, including the state-sponsored persecution of religious minorities in Iran, and its continued failure to uphold its international obligations, including with respect to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Calls on Iran to exonerate and release Youcef Nadarkhani and all other individuals held or charged on account of their religious or political beliefs.
Calls on the Administration to designate Iranian officials for human rights abuses.
Reaffirms that freedom of religious practice is a universal human right and a fundamental individual freedom that every government must protect.
House Republican Conference Summary
The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/112/2/hres556.
Background
The following timeline of events regarding Youcef Nadarkhani is contained in the text of the resolution:
- October 2009, Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian Christian, protested an Iranian law that would impose Islam on his Christian children.
- September 2010, an Iranian court accused Mr. Nadarkhani of abandoning the Islamic faith of his ancestors, and condemned him to death for apostasy. The Iranian court sentenced him to death by hanging.
- December 5, 2010, Mr. Nadarkhani appealed his conviction and sentence to the Supreme Revolutionary Court in Qom, Iran, and the court held that if it could be proven that he was a practicing Muslim in adulthood, his death sentence should be carried out unless he recants his Christian faith and adopts Islam.
- From September 25 to September 28, 2011, an Iranian court held hearings to determine if Mr. Nadarkhani was a practicing Muslim in adulthood, and held that he had abandoned the faith of his ancestors and must be sentenced to death if he does not recant his faith.
According to the resolution, on numerous occasions the judiciary of Iran offered to commute Mr. Nadarkhani’s sentence if he would recant his faith, and numerous Iranian government officials have attempted to coerce Youcef Nadarkhani to recant his Christian faith and accept Islam in exchange for his freedom. Mr. Nadarkhani continues to refuse to recant his faith, and the Government of Iran continues to indefinitely imprison him for choosing to practice Christianity.
Additionally, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran has reported that as of October 19, 2011, Iran had secretly executed 146 people during that calendar year, and in 2010, Iran secretly executed more than 300 people.
Summary
H.Res. 556 would condemn Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of religious minorities and its continued violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The bill would also call on the Administration to designate additional Iranian officials, as appropriate, for human rights abuses pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (P.L. 111–195).
The bill would also call for the Government of Iran to release Youcef Nadarkhani and all other individuals held or charged on account of their religion.
Lastly, the bill would reaffirm that religious freedom is a universal human right and a fundamental individual freedom.
Cost
There is no CBO cost estimate available for this bill.
House Democratic Caucus Summary
The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:
Slip Laws
Slip laws refer to enacted bills and joint resolutions in their original form as enacted by Congress, that is, before other laws amend them. Slip laws are cited as “Public Law XXX-YYY”, where XXX is the number of the Congress in which the bill or resolution was introduced.