,,iv #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #ahg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #g1 #bjai,mr4 ,deutch 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,wilson of ,south ,carolina1 ,mrs4 ,lowey1 ,mr4 ,smith of ,new ,jersey1 ,mr4 ,engel1 ,mr4 ,mc,caul1 ,mr4 ,connolly1 and ,mr4 ,chabot7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,,resolution ,calling for the unconditional release of ,united ,states citizens and legal permanent resident aliens being held for political purposes by the ,government of ,iran4 ,whereas ,iran has taken as hostages several ,united ,states citizens1 including ,siamak and ,baquer ,namazi and ,xiyue ,wang1 as well as ,united ,states legal permanent resident1 ,nizar ,zakka1 among others2 ,whereas ,siamak ,namazi was detained on ,october #ae1 #bjae1 falsely accused1 and convicted on ,october #ah1 #bjaf1 for collaborating with a hostile government and has been held for extended periods in solitary confinement and under constant interrogation2 ,whereas former ,,unicef official ,baquer ,namazi1 the #hj-year old father of ,siamak ,namazi1 was detained on ,february #bb1 #bjaf1 falsely accused1 and sentenced to #aj years in prison for the same crime as his son2 ,whereas former ,united ,nations ,secretary-,general ,ban ,ki-moon urged ,iranian authorities to release ,baquer ,namazi1 whose health status is deteriorating1 to allow his family to care for him2 ,whereas ,,unicef has issued four public statements on ,baquer ,namazi's behalf2 ,whereas ,xiyue ,wang1 a graduate student at ,princeton ,university1 was arrested in ,iran on or about ,august #g1 #bjaf1 while studying ,farsi and researching the late ,qajar dynasty as background for his doctoral dissertation1 detained by ,iran in ,evin prison for almost a year1 falsely charged with espionage1 and sentenced to #aj years in prison2 ,whereas ,robert ,levinson1 a ,united ,states citizen and retired agent of the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation1 traveled to ,kish ,island1 ,iran1 and disappeared on ,march #i1 #bjjg2 ,whereas the ,united ,states ,government had secured a commitment from the ,iranians to try and gather information about ,mr4 ,levinson's possible whereabouts but has not received any information thus far2 ,whereas1 on ,november #bc1 #bjaf1 the ,united ,nations ,working ,group on ,arbitrary ,detention concluded that ,iran was responsible for the arbitrary detention of ,robert ,levinson2 ,whereas ,nizar ,zakka1 a ,united ,states legal permanent resident alien and ,lebanese national1 who is also in a weakened physical state1 was unlawfully detained on or about ,september #ah1 #bjae1 after presenting at a conference in ,iran at ,iran's invitation1 and was later falsely charged with being a spy and sentenced to #aj years at the ,evin prison2 ,whereas1 on ,april #ac1 #bjag1 the ,department of the ,treasury sanctioned the ,tehran ,prisons ,organization and its former head1 ,sohrab ,soleimani1 and ,white ,house ,press ,secretary ,sean ,spicer noted ,the sanctions against human rights abusers in ,iran's prisons come at a time when ,iran continues to unjustly detain in its prisons various foreigners1 including ,u4,s4 citizens ,siamak ,namazi and ,baquer ,namazi2 ,whereas1 on ,april #be1 #bjag1 at the meeting of the ,joint ,commission overseeing implementation of the ,joint ,comprehensive ,plan of ,action1 the ,department of ,state reported that the ,united ,states delegation had raised with the ,iranian delegation its serious concerns regarding the cases of ,u4,s4 citizens detained and missing in ,iran1 and called on ,iran to immediately release these ,u4,s4 citizens so they can be reunited with their families2 ,whereas1 on ,july #ba1 #bjag1 the ,white ,house released a statement stating that ,president ,donald ,j4 ,trump and his ,administration are redoubling efforts to bring home all ,americans unjustly detained abroad1 and are prepared to impose new and serious consequences on ,iran unless all unjustly imprisoned ,american citizens are released and returned42 ,whereas1 on ,december #c1 #bjah1 the families of ,robert ,levinson1 ,baquer and ,siamak ,namazi1 and ,nizar ,zakka joined with the families of other foreign nationals held in ,iran in sending an open letter to the international community calling for the release of their family members2 ,whereas according to ,jason ,rezaian1 a former ,washington ,post ,tehran correspondent who was unjustly imprisoned in ,iran for #edd days1 hostage-taking in recent years became a key tool of domestic influence for the ,revolutionary ,guard2 and ,whereas ,iranian media has reportedly quoted officials who have indicated that the ,government of ,iran is seeking additional payments or other concessions1 including relief from economic sanctions1 from the families of hostages and their governments as a condition of release1 a practice banned by the #aigi ,international ,convention ,against the ,taking of ,hostages and other international legal norms3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,house of ,representatives-- 7#a7 calls on the ,government of the ,islamic ,republic of ,iran to release unconditionally ,siamak ,namazi1 ,baquer ,namazi1 ,xiyue ,wang1 ,nizar ,zakka1 and any other ,united ,states citizen1 legal permanent resident alien1 or foreign national being unjustly detained in ,iran2 7#b7 urges the ,president to make the release of ,united ,states citizens and legal permanent resident aliens held hostage by the ,government of ,iran the highest of priorities2 7#c7 requests that the ,united ,states and its allies whose nationals have been detained consider establishing a multinational task force to secure the release of the detainees2 7#d7 urges the ,government of ,iran to take meaningful steps towards fulfilling its repeated promises to assist in locating and returning ,robert ,levinson1 including immediately providing all available information from all entities of the ,government of ,iran regarding the disappearance of ,robert ,levinson to the ,united ,states ,government2 7#e7 encourages the ,president to take meaningful action to secure the release of ,siamak ,namazi1 ,baquer ,namazi1 ,xiyue ,wang1 ,nizar ,zakka1 and any other ,united ,states citizen1 legal permanent resident alien1 or foreign national being unjustly detained in ,iran if the ,government of ,iran does not release such ,united ,states citizens1 legal permanent resident aliens1 and foreign nationals2 and 7#f7 encourages the ,president to take meaningful action to secure the return of ,robert ,levinson if the ,government of ,iran does not locate and return him4