22 U.S.C. § 8756: Secretary of State…

Summary

Requires Iran to let the U.N. Special Rapporteur freely investigate human rights in prisons and elsewhere, send urgent appeals, and meet with people and groups in the region. Says Iran must stop abusing political prisoners and people jailed for speaking out, including torture, denying health care, and unfair trials, and must immediately free all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners. Orders the U.S. to use all diplomatic tools to press for releases and to hold Iranian officials who order political imprisonment accountable, including sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) and other U.S. laws. Allows the Secretary of State to keep helping civil society groups that support these prisoners with five kinds of help: securing releases, documenting abuses, international advocacy, health care (including mental health), and post‑release aid like education, jobs, or reparations. Definitions: "political prisoner" — detained for political reasons; "prisoner of conscience" — jailed only for peaceful exercise of rights and not for violence.

Title 22, §8756

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Statement of policy

It is the policy of the United States that—

(1)the Islamic Republic of Iran should allow the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran unimpeded access to facilitate the full implementation of the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur, including—

(A)investigating alleged violations of human rights that are occurring or have occurred both within prisons and elsewhere;

(B)transmitting urgent appeals and letters to the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding alleged violations of human rights; and

(C)engaging with relevant stakeholders in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the surrounding region;

(2)the Islamic Republic of Iran should immediately end violations of the human rights of political prisoners or persons imprisoned for exercising the right to freedom of speech, including—

(A)torture;

(B)denial of access to health care; and

(C)denial of a fair trial;

(3)all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran should be unconditionally and immediately released;

(4)all diplomatic tools of the United States should be invoked to ensure that all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran are released, including raising individual cases of particular concern; and

(5)all officials of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran who are responsible for human rights abuses in the form of politically motivated imprisonment should be held to account, including through the imposition of sanctions pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) and other applicable statutory authorities of the United States.

(b)Assistance for prisoners

The Secretary of State is authorized to continue to provide assistance to civil society organizations that support prisoners of conscience and political prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including organizations that—

(1)work to secure the release of such prisoners;

(2)document violations of human rights with respect to such prisoners;

(3)support international advocacy to raise awareness of issues relating to such prisoners;

(4)support the health, including mental health, of such prisoners; and

(5)provide post-incarceration assistance to enable such prisoners to resume normal lives, including access to education, employment, or other forms of reparation.

(c)Definitions

In this section: (1)

(2)The term “prisoner of conscience” means a person who—

(A)is imprisoned or otherwise physically restricted solely in response to the peaceful exercise of the human rights of such person; and

(B)has not used violence or advocated violence or hatred.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(5), is subtitle F (§§ 1261–1264) of title XII of div. A of Pub. L. 114–328, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2533, which is classified generally to chapter 108 (§ 10101 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 10101 of this title and Tables. Codification Section was enacted as part of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, and not as part of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 which comprises this chapter.

§8756 Secretary of State Assistance for Prisoners in Islamic Republic of Iran