119-sres145

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 145 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
S. RES. 145

 Protecting the Iranian political refugees, including female former 
 political prisoners, in Ashraf-3 in Albania.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 27, 2025

 Mr. Tillis (for himself, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
Cruz, Mr. Peters, Mr. Daines, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Gallego, 
 Mr. Boozman, Mr. Booker, Mr. Coons, and Mr. Markey) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
 Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Protecting the Iranian political refugees, including female former 
 political prisoners, in Ashraf-3 in Albania.

Whereas, since October 2023, the Iranian regime has increasingly acted as the 
 epicenter of terrorism in the region, from supporting proxies that 
 vehemently oppose peace in the Middle East, to threatening commercial 
 shipping and free trade in the Red Sea and from targeting American 
 forces in the region, to providing missile and drones to rogue actors, 
 all of which pose serious risks to regional peace and security and 
 endanger the vital interests of the United States;
Whereas the downfall of dictator Bashar al-Assad--a key ally of the Iranian 
 regime--exposes, but does not diminish, Iran's role as the primary 
 malign actor in the region as it continues to adapt its destabilizing 
 tactics through proxies and illicit influence, and the regime's efforts 
 to sow chaos, undermine regional stability, and threaten United States 
 and allied interests persist and may evolve in unexpected and dangerous 
 way that will demand unwavering vigilance and decisive action to counter 
 their aggression which thwarts movement toward peace and stability in 
 the region;
Whereas Iran remains the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism today;
Whereas the Iranian people have rejected the regime ruling Iran through several 
 rounds of major demonstrations, engulfing all 31 provinces of Iran 
 calling for change;
Whereas the Iranian regime has resorted to killing, torture, sexual violence, 
 and imprisonment of protesters, and several thousand protesters since 
 2017 have been killed, and many more have been imprisoned;
Whereas, in the first 4 months of Masoud Pezeshkian's presidency, the judiciary 
 of the Iranian regime has executed over 500 prisoners, including 
 political prisoners and at least 17 women, sometimes publicly, and has 
 increased the use of hand amputation as punishment;
Whereas the Iranian regime has been intent on eliminating the Iranian political 
 refugees who survived Tehran's repression and were first based in Camp 
 Ashraf, Iraq, in the mid-1980s;
Whereas, starting in 2012, the United States Government and the United Nations 
 initiated the relocation of nearly 3,000 Iranian dissidents from Camp 
 Ashraf, Iraq, where they were repeatedly attacked by the Iranian 
 regime's proxies, and facilitated their gradual relocation in 2013, 
 2014, and 2015 to Albania;
Whereas the relocation of these Iranian political refugees to Albania from Iraq 
 was completed in September 2016, and the refugees, a third of them 
 women, are now residing in Ashraf-3 near Tirana in Albania;
Whereas, on April 19, 2016, before the relocation of the majority of the 
 residents to Albania, in a letter to a European Parliament Vice-
 President, the Prime Minister of Albania wrote, ``Albania is fully 
 engaged and committed to ensure for the Iranian refugees all rights 
 stipulated in the Geneva Convention 1951, in the European Human Rights 
 Convention and in the whole international legislation.'';
Whereas over 900 women and men of Ashraf-3 are former political prisoners who 
 endured torture while in prisons and many of them are witnesses of the 
 1988 massacre of political prisoners and other political killings in 
 Iran, among them eyewitnesses of crimes committed by Ebrahim Raisi;
Whereas these witnesses must be fully protected for potential testimonies before 
 international courts investigating the 1988 massacre and other grave 
 human rights violations in Iran;
Whereas, in November 2021, the Swedish Judiciary moved the whole court in 
 Stockholm to Albania for 2 weeks to facilitate hearing testimonies of 7 
 former Iranian political prisoners now residing in Ashraf-3, whose 
 testimony was characterized as critical for a trial related to the 1988 
 massacre;
Whereas, in December 2023, a Swedish court confirmed the earlier ruling by the 
 lower court of a life sentence for Hamid Noury, implicated in the 1988 
 massacre where he was an official in Gohardasht Prison;
Whereas the Iranian regime has stepped up terrorist attacks against its 
 opponents and has used blackmail, terror threats, hostage-taking, sham 
 judicial proceedings, and other means of intimidation against western 
 nations to compel them to silence Iranian opponents living abroad;
Whereas, on several occasions, including in the last week of December 2023, the 
 Iranian regime carried out large-scale cyberattacks against Albania to 
 pressure the Government of Albania to undermine or end its hosting of 
 Iranian political refugees;
Whereas experience has shown that any lack of decisiveness or concessions to 
 Tehran only emboldens the Iranian regime for its destructive actions;
Whereas the Iranian regime has, over the past few months, stepped up threats 
 against Ashraf-3, and given what the regime has done since October 7, 
 2023, far more vigilance on the part of the United States is required to 
 ensure the complete protection and rights of Ashraf-3 residents in 
 Albania;
Whereas, on December 12, 2023, the Iranian regime started sham trials in 
 absentia for 104 veteran members of the Iranian Resistance, who, since 
 years ago, have been primarily based in Europe, including in Albania, to 
 create a phony legal precedent against them and secure their extradition 
 to Iran by misusing INTERPOL Red Notices, impose limitations, or set the 
 stage for terror attacks against them;
Whereas the Iranian regime is doing its utmost through any means to prevent 
 Ashraf-3 residents from speaking up against the regime;
Whereas the leadership role of women in Ashraf-3 has doubly heightened the 
 Iranian regime's misogynous hysteria against the political refugees in 
 Ashraf-3;
Whereas over 4,000 parliamentarians around the world and 130 former world 
 leaders have expressed their support for Mrs. Maryam Rajavi's Ten-Point 
 Plan for the Future of Iran, which calls for the universal right to 
 vote, free elections, a market economy, separation of religion and 
 state, and advocates for gender, religious, and ethnic equality, a 
 foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence, peace in the Middle East, 
 and a nonnuclear republic Iran; and
Whereas, in sharp contrast to Iran's institutionalized misogyny, this Ten-Point 
 platform has adequately addressed women's equality, including ``complete 
 gender equality in the realms of political, social, cultural and 
 economic rights. An equal participation of women in political 
 leadership, abolishment of any form of discrimination. The right to 
 choose one's own clothing freely, the right to freely marry and divorce, 
 and to obtain education and employment. Prohibition of all forms of 
 exploitation against women under any pretext.'': Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--

    (1) the Iranian political refugees in Ashraf-3, in 
 rejection of the Iranian regime's demands, must be afforded 
 their fundamental rights of freedom of expression and assembly 
 and legal political activities in Albania;

    (2) the United States Government condemns the Iranian 
 regime's threats and nefarious actions against the Government 
 of Albania, including cyberattacks and threats against the 
 Iranian dissidents in Ashraf-3 in Albania;

    (3) the United States Government should take prompt and 
 appropriate steps in accordance with international law, 
 including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 
 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 
 European Convention on Human Rights, and the 1951 Convention 
 Relating to the Status of Refugees, to help the Government of 
 Albania ensure and uphold all fundamental rights of Ashraf-3 
 residents within the framework of the above conventions, 
 including the right to life, liberty, security, protection of 
 property, and freedom of expression and assembly;

    (4) the United States Government strongly opposes Iran's 
 misuse of the INTERPOL Red Notices to impose restrictions or 
 limitations or set in motion the extradition of Iranian 
 dissidents to Iran; and

    (5) the United States Government must continue close and 
 regular cooperation with the Government of Albania and the 
 residents of Ashraf-3 to ensure the complete protection and 
 fundamental rights of Ashraf-3 residents.
 <all>