by The House overwhelmingly adopted a resolution Wednesday praising protesters in Iran, with only one congressman – Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) – voting “no.”
The concurrent resolution, which passed 420-1, applauds the “courage, courage and resolve of Iran’s women and men who demonstrate in more than 13 cities and risk their safety to denounce the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses “.
The text of the measure marks the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Iranian woman who died in police custody in September after the morality police arrested her on charges of violating Iranian laws requiring women to wear the veil or hijab.
She was arrested for “inappropriate clothing” on September 13, then died on September 16 after falling into a coma. A coroner’s report said she died of multiple organ failure, according to NBC News. Her family said witnesses say she was beaten by officers.
Protests erupted in Iran after his death.
The resolution also lists cases of “persecution of women” by the Iranian regime “through misogynistic criminal statutes”.
Says Congress condemns “the brutal beating and death of Mahsa Amini” and “the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown on women and men participating in the current demonstrations, including children, and calls for transparent accountability for all killings of protesters by the Iranian security forces.”
The resolution also expresses support for those who participate in the protests and “risk their safety to denounce the human rights violations committed by the Iranian regime”.
He also “encourages the Biden administration’s continued efforts to respond to the protests,” including sanctions against Iran’s morality police.
A spokesman for Massie told The Hill the congressman opposed the resolution “because it encourages the immediate imposition of sanctions.”
“Sanctions typically do no harm to the repressive governments they claim to target. Instead, the burdens fall disproportionately on innocent people who are already suffering under those repressive regimes,” the spokesman added.
The resolution encourages the Biden administration “to immediately impose, under existing authorities, additional human rights sanctions on officials and entities responsible for cracking down on ongoing protests.”
House lawmakers on both sides of the aisle praised the resolution’s passage.
“Iran is the world’s leading advocate of terror. We must stand with the brave Iranian people as they fight against the oppressive Iranian regime and its human rights violations,” Representative Josh Gottheimer (DN.J.), who co-led the resolution, wrote in a statement. this bipartisan resolution passed by the House today, we are making clear that we support those courageous individuals committed to freedom and human rights, both in Iran and around the world.”
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the measure affirms U.S. support for Iranian protesters.
“I am proud that our bipartisan resolution was overwhelmingly passed by the House again today. This resolution strongly reaffirms the American people’s support for the brave Iranian people speaking out against the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses,” she wrote in a statement.
“As the regime continues to step up its violent crackdown, we must continue to do everything we can to uphold the Iranian people’s right to self-determination and ensure that the regime is held to account for its crimes. That means no sanctions relief for the regime and full enforcement of all our existing sanctions,” he added.
— Updated at 21:22
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