,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #bhd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october  
#ca1 #bjac,mr4 ,risch 7for himself1 ,mr4
 ,leahy1 ,mr4 ,crapo1 and ,mr4 ,paul7   
submitted the following resolution2     
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,foreign ,relations  ,,resolution       
,calling on the ,government of ,iran to 
immediately release ,saeed ,abedini and 
all other individuals detained on       
account of their religious beliefs4     
,whereas1 in ,september #bjab1 ,saeed   
,abedini1 a resident of the ,state of   
,idaho and a minority ,christian with   
dual ,iranian-,united ,states           
citizenship1 was arbitrarily detained in
 the ,islamic ,republic of ,iran1 held  
in solitary confinement1 physically     
beaten1 denied access to necessary      
medical treatment as a result of that   
abuse1 and denied access to his lawyer  
until just before his trial2 ,whereas1  
in ,january #bjac1 an ,iranian court    
accused ,saeed ,abedini of attempting to

 undermine the national security of     
,iran by gathering with fellow          
,christians in private homes2 ,whereas  
,saeed ,abedini was tried in a          
non-public trial before a judge who had 
been sanctioned by the ,european ,union 
for repeated violations of human rights1
 including issuing long prison sentences
 to peaceful protestors following the   
#bjji election2 ,whereas1 during the    
trial1 ,saeed ,abedini and his ,iranian 
attorney were barred from attending     
portions of the trial in which the      
prosecution provided and the judge      
received evidence through witness       
testimony2 ,whereas the ,iranian court  
sentenced ,saeed ,abedini to #h years in
 prison2 ,whereas1 in ,august #bjac1 the
 #cfth branch of the ,tehran appeals    
court denied ,saeed ,abedini's appeal   
and affirmed his #h-year sentence2      
,whereas the ,government of ,iran       
continues to indefinitely imprison      
,saeed ,abedini for peacefully          
exercising his faith2 ,whereas the      

,united ,nations ,universal ,declaration
 of ,human ,rights declares that every  
individual has the right to freedom of  
thought1 conscience and religion1 which 
includes the freedom to change his      
religion or belief1 and freedom1 either 
alone or in community with others and in
 public or private1 to manifest his     
religion or belief in teaching1         
practice1 worship and observance1 and   
the ,international ,covenant on ,civil  
and ,political ,rights echoes that      
declaration2 ,whereas the ,international
 ,covenant on ,civil and ,political     
,rights holds that every individual     
shall be free from arbitrary arrest and 
detention1 and that every individual    
bears the right to have adequate time   
and facilities for the preparation of   
his defense and to be present during the
 duration of his trial2 ,whereas the    
,international ,covenant on ,civil and  
,political ,rights further guarantees   
every individual the right to a fair and
 public hearing by a competent1         

independent1 and impartial tribunal2    
,whereas ,iran is a member of the       
,united ,nations and a signatory to both
 the ,universal ,declaration of ,human  
,rights and the ,international ,covenant
 on ,civil and ,political ,rights       
without reservation2 ,whereas articles  
#ac and #bc through #bg of the          
,constitution of the ,islamic ,republic 
of ,iran provide for freedom of         
expression1 assembly1 and association1  
as well as the freedom to practice one's
 religion2 ,whereas ,iran is a          
religiously diverse society and the     
,united ,nations ,special ,rapporteur on
 the ,situation of ,human ,rights in the
 ,islamic ,republic of ,iran reports    
that religious minorities1 including    
,nematullahi ,sufi ,muslims1 ,sunnis1   
,baha'is1 and ,christians1 face human   
rights violations in ,iran2 ,whereas1 in
 recent years1 there has been an        
increase in the number of incidents of  
,iranian authorities raiding religious  
services1 detaining worshipers and      

religious leaders1 and harassing and    
threatening minority religious members2 
,whereas the ,united ,nations ,special  
,rapporteur reports that ,iranian       
intelligence officials are known to     
threaten ,christian converts with arrest
 and apostasy charges if they do not    
return to ,islam2 and ,whereas          
,president ,barack ,obama has called on 
,president ,hassan ,rouhani to          
demonstrate the commitment of ,iran to  
individual human rights through the     
release of all prisoners of conscience3 
,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the        
,senate-- 7#a7 recognizes that freedom  
of religious belief and practice is a   
universal human right and a fundamental 
freedom of every individual1 regardless 
of race1 sex1 country1 creed1 or        
nationality1 and should never be        
arbitrarily abridged by any government2 
7#b7 recognizes that governments have a 
responsibility to protect the           
fundamental rights of their citizens2   
and  7#c7 calls on the ,government of   

,iran to immediately release ,saeed     
,abedini and all other individuals      
detained on account of their religious  
beliefs4