Title 22, Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-102

§8755 Statement of Policy on Political Prisoners

Title 22 › CHAPTER 94 — IRAN THREAT REDUCTION AND SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS › SUBCHAPTER IV — MEASURES TO PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS › § 8755

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The United States must help find prisoners of conscience and document human rights abuses in Iran. It must offer asylum or refugee status to Iranian political dissidents who ask, consistent with U.S. law and national security, and must offer to help relocate them through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees when requested and appropriate. It must also publicly call by name for the release of dissidents and raise attention to individual cases when the dissidents or their families ask.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §8755

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

It shall be the policy of the United States—

(1)to support efforts to research and identify prisoners of conscience and cases of human rights abuses in Iran;

(2)to offer refugee status or political asylum in the United States to political dissidents in Iran if requested and consistent with the laws and national security interests of the United States;

(3)to offer to assist, through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, with the relocation of such political prisoners to other countries if requested, as appropriate and with appropriate consideration for the national security interests of the United States; and

(4)to publicly call for the release of Iranian dissidents by name and raise awareness with respect to individual cases of Iranian dissidents and prisoners of conscience, as appropriate and if requested by the dissidents or prisoners themselves or their families.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 8755

Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102