,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ajge ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #i1 #bjai,mr4 ,wicker 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4 ,tillis1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 and ,mr4 ,van ,hollen7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to advocate for the release of ,united ,states citizens and locally employed diplomatic staff unlawfully detained in ,turkey1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,defending ,united ,states ,citizens and ,diplomatic ,staff from ,political ,prosecutions ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the ,united ,states ,government employs thousands of local nationals 7in this ,act referred to as locally employed staff7 at its diplomatic missions1 military bases1 and other official facilities around the world1 generating employment and economic opportunities in local economies and allowing the ,united ,states ,government to benefit from local expertise and perspectives4 7#b7 ,since ,february #bjag1 the ,government of ,turkey--a member of the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization 7in this ,act referred to as ,,nato7 since #aieb--;has targeted at least #c locally employed staff of ,united ,states consulates in ,turkey with national security charges stemming from their routine job responsibilities on behalf of the ,united ,states ,government and without providing any credible evidence of wrongdoing4 7#c7 ,as ,,nato allies1 the ,united ,states and ,turkey share a commitment to safeguard the freedom1 common heritage and civilization of their peoples1 founded on the principles of democracy1 individual liberty and the rule of law1 as enshrined in the preamble to the #aidi ,north ,atlantic ,treaty4 7#d7 ,authorities in ,turkey detained ,hamza ,uluay--an employee of the ,united ,states ,consulate in ,adana for more than #ch years--for nearly #b years and convicted him of membership in a terrorist organization without any credible evidence of wrongdoing before releasing him on ,january #cj1 #bjai1 and barring him from international travel4 7#e7 ,authorities in ,turkey have detained ,metin ,topuz--a ,foreign ,service ,national ,investigator at the ,united ,states ,consulate ,general in ,istanbul for more than #cf years--since ,september #be1 #bjag1 on charges of membership in a terrorist organization1 gathering state secrets for espionage1 and attempting to overthrow the ,government1 ,turkish ,national ,assembly1 and the ,constitutional ,order1 citing among other things his routine communications with ,turkish law enforcement officers1 which constituted a central part of his job responsibilities as an employee of the ,united ,states ,government4 7#f7 ,authorities in ,turkey have held ,mete ,canturk--another ,foreign ,service ,national ,investigator at the ,united ,states ,consulate ,general in ,istanbul for more than #cj years--under house arrest since ,january #ca1 #bjah1 and subjected his wife and daughter to travel bans and regular check-ins with police after initially detaining them4 7#g7 ,as of ,april #i1 #bjai1 ,metin ,topuz remains in jail1 ,mete ,canturk remains under house arrest1 and ,hamza ,uluay remains convicted of false charges and subject to travel restrictions because of charges relating directly to the conduct of their professional responsibilities as employees of the ,united ,states ,government without any credible evidence of wrongdoing4 7#h7 ,the physical and psychological health of these men continues to be adversely affected by their prolonged and indefinite detention1 including significant weight loss and aggravation of preexisting medical conditions4 7#i7 ,on ,november #ae1 #bjag1 then-,deputy ,assistant ,secretary of ,state for ,european and ,eurasian ,affairs ,jonathan ,cohen testified to the ,commission on ,security and ,cooperation in ,europe 7commonly known as the ,helsinki ,commission7 that it appears to us that ,mr4 ,uluay and ,mr4 ,topuz were arrested for maintaining legitimate contacts with ,turkish ,government and local officials and others in the context of their official duties on behalf of the ,united ,states ,government4 7#aj7 ,in pursuing its legitimate right to bring to justice the perpetrators of the failed ,july #bjaf coup attempt1 ,turkish authorities have subjected tens of thousands of other citizens of ,turkey to detention and criminal prosecutions1 with some subjected to official harassment based on specious claims and guilt by association1 reflecting a significant deterioration in the respect of the ,government of ,turkey for the rule of law and the human rights of its people4 7#aa7 ,united ,states citizen and ,national ,aeronautics and ,space ,administration physicist ,dr4 ,serkan ,glge has spent more than #b years in jail in ,turkey and is currently serving a #e-year sentence on national security charges without any credible evidence of wrongdoing4 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the ,government of ,turkey should immediately release all wrongfully detained locally employed staff of ,united ,states diplomatic missions and citizens of the ,united ,states in ,turkey and resolve such cases in a timely1 fair1 and transparent manner2 7#b7 the ,united ,states has a moral obligation to forcefully advocate for the release of wrongfully detained locally employed staff who endure arrest1 detention1 prosecution1 and imprisonment because of the personal risk they often assume to themselves1 their families1 and their communities as a result of their work for and affiliation with the ,united ,states ,government2 7#c7 it is in the national security interest of the ,united ,states to advocate for the safety and security of all employees of the ,united ,states ,government overseas because any failure to do so emboldens other foreign governments to interfere with ,united ,states diplomatic1 military1 and other missions around the world2 and 7#d7 the ,president should-- 7,a7 press the ,government of ,turkey1 in coordination with ,,nato allies1 in all high-level bilateral and multilateral fora to immediately release wrongfully detained locally employed staff and citizens of the ,united ,states and to resolve their cases in a timely1 fair1 and transparent manner2 7,b7 urge the ,government of ,turkey1 in coordination with ,,nato allies1 to restore democratic norms and respect for the rule of law and the human rights of all citizens of ,turkey by ceasing all arbitrary or politically motivated prosecutions1 detentions1 and dismissals1 and by undertaking meaningful reforms to ensure the independence of the judiciary in ,turkey2 7,c7 consider1 in coordination with ,,nato allies1 in order to secure the prompt release of wrongfully detained locally employed staff and citizens of the ,united ,states in ,turkey1 rescinding accreditations to a commensurate number of diplomats from the ,embassy of ,turkey to the ,united ,states2 and 7,d7 support the extension of special immigrant visas to ,hamza ,uluay1 ,metin ,topuz1 and ,mete ,canturk and their immediate families in recognition of their distinguished service to the ,united ,states under exceptional circumstances4 #d4 ,imposition of sanctions with respect to wrongful detention of locally employed staff and ,united ,states citizens in ,turkey 7a7 ,in general ,the ,president shall impose the sanctions described in subsection 7b7 with respect to any senior official of the ,government of ,turkey the ,president determines1 based on credible evidence1 is1 on or after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 responsible for the wrongful and prolonged detention of locally employed staff of ,united ,states diplomatic missions or citizens of the ,united ,states in ,turkey4 7b7 ,sanctions described ,the sanctions to be imposed under subsection 7a7 with respect to an official described in that subsection are the following3 7#a7 ,inadmissibility to united states ,ineligibility to receive a visa to enter the ,united ,states or to be admitted to the ,united ,states or1 if the official has been issued a visa or other documentation1 revocation1 in accordance with section #bba7;i7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abja7;i771 of the visa or other documentation4 7#b7 ,blocking of property 7,a7 ,in general ,the blocking and prohibiting1 in accordance with the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agja et seq471 of all transactions in all property and interests in property of the official if such property and interests in property are in the ,united ,states1 come within the ,united ,states1 or are or come within the possession or control of a ,united ,states person4 7,b7 ,inapplicability of national emergency requirement ,the requirements of section #bjb of the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agja7 shall not apply for purposes of this paragraph4 7c7 ,exceptions 7#a7 ,exception to comply with united nations headquarters agreement and law enforcement objectives ,sanctions under subsection 7b77#a7 shall not apply to an individual if admitting the individual into the ,united ,states would further important law enforcement objectives or is necessary to permit the ,united ,nations ,headquarters ,agreement or other applicable international obligations of the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,exception relating to importation of goods 7,a7 ,in general ,the authority to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property under subsection 7b77#b7 shall not include the authority to impose sanctions on the importation of goods4 7,b7 ,good ,in this paragraph1 the term good means any article1 natural or man-made substance1 material1 supply or manufactured product1 including inspection and test equipment1 and excluding technical data4 7d7 ,implementation2 penalties 7#a7 ,implementation ,the ,president may exercise all authorities provided under sections #bjc and #bje of the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agjb and #agjd7 to carry out this section4 7#b7 ,penalties ,a person that violates1 attempts to violate1 conspires to violate1 or causes a violation of subsection 7b77#b7 or any regulation1 license1 or order issued to carry out that subsection shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections 7b7 and 7c7 of section #bjf of the ,international ,emergency ,economic ,powers ,act 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #agje7 to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection 7a7 of that section4 7e7 ,national security waiver ,the ,president may waive the application of sanctions under this section with respect to an individual if the ,president determines and reports to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership that the waiver is in the vital national security interests of the ,united ,states4 7f7 ,termination ,the requirement to impose sanctions under this section shall terminate on the date on which the ,president determines and reports to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership that-- 7#a7 all locally employed staff of ,united ,states diplomatic missions and citizens of the ,united ,states wrongfully detained by the ,government of ,turkey have been released from detention2 and 7#b7 locally employed staff of ,united ,states diplomatic missions and citizens of the ,united ,states are not subject to travel restrictions imposed by the ,government of ,turkey4 #e4 ,report required 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and every #abj days thereafter1 the ,president shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership a report that includes the following3 7#a7 ,information related to the wrongful and prolonged detention by the ,government of ,turkey of locally employed staff of ,united ,states diplomatic missions and citizens of the ,united ,states1 including-- 7,a7 their status within the judicial system in ,turkey2 7,b7 where applicable1 the dates of their detention1 arrest1 indictment1 trials1 and convictions2 7,c7 a description of the access the ,government of ,turkey grants to representatives of the ,united ,states ,government to the detained individuals and their families2 7,d7 a description of the detention conditions in which the detained individuals are held2 7,e7 a description of the ways in which the ,united ,states ,government is providing financial1 legal1 or other assistance to the detained locally employed staff and their families2 and 7,f7 a description of ,united ,states ,government engagement with the ,government of ,turkey to secure the release of the detained individuals4 7#b7 ,a list of the officials identified by the ,president pursuant to section #d7;a74 7#c7 ,a list of any waivers exercised by the ,president under section #d7;e71 and the justification for each such waiver4 7b7 ,form2 publication 7#a7 ,form ,the report required by paragraph 7#a7 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified annex as necessary4 7#b7 ,publication ,the unclassified portion of the report required by paragraph 7#a7 shall be posted on a publicly available internet website of the ,department of ,state4 #f4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,admission2 admitted ,the terms admission and admitted have the meanings given those terms in section #aja of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja74 7#b7 ,appropriate congressional committees and leadership ,the term appropriate congressional committees and leadership means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations1 the ,committee on ,appropriations1 and the majority and minority leaders of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,financial ,services1 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 the ,committee on ,appropriations1 and the ,speaker1 the majority leader1 and the minority leader of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#c7 ,united ,nations ,headquarters ,agreement ,the term ,united ,nations ,headquarters ,agreement means the ,agreement regarding the ,headquarters of the ,united ,nations1 signed at ,lake ,success ,june #bf1 #aidg4 7#d7 ,united states person ,the term ,united ,states person means-- 7,a7 a ,united ,states citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the ,united ,states2 or 7,b7 an entity organized under the laws of the ,united ,states or any jurisdiction within the ,united ,states1 including a foreign branch of such an entity4