,,iii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #gc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of
 ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,february #ad1
 #bjai ,mr4 ,rubio 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,cardin1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4
 ,sasse1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,ms4 ,collins1    
,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4         
,merkley1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 
and ,mr4 ,markey7 submitted the         
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,foreign          
,relations  ,,resolution  ,calling on   
the ,kingdom of ,saudi ,arabia to       
immediately release ,saudi ,women's     
,rights activists and respect the       
fundamental rights of all ,saudi        
citizens4  ,whereas the ,united ,states 
,government and the ,government of      
,saudi ,arabia share an important       
security partnership2 ,whereas ,saudi   
,crown ,prince ,mohammed bin ,salman    
said during an ,april #bjah interview   
with ,the ,atlantic magazine1 ,i support
 women ''' ,in our religion there is no 
difference between men and women ''' ,we

 don't want divided treatment for       
different people2 ,whereas ,saudi       
authorities1 since ,mohammed bin ,salman
 became ,crown ,prince1 have relaxed    
some repressive restrictions on women1  
including by allowing women to drive1   
attend certain sporting events1 and     
enter some professions which were       
previously closed to them2 ,whereas1 in 
,may #bjah1 ,saudi authorities began    
arresting women's rights activists and  
their supporters1 including those who   
had campaigned for the right to drive   
ahead of the government's announcement  
granting women the right to drive       
effective ,june #bd1 #bjah2 ,whereas    
those detained included-- 7#a7 ,samar   
,badawi1 who petitioned ,saudi          
authorities to allow women the right to 
drive1 vote1 and run in municipal       
elections2  7#b7 ,nouf ,abdelaziz1 who  
expressed solidarity with arrested      
women's rights activists2  7#c7 ,mayaa  
al-,zahrani1 an activist and friend of  
,abdelaziz2  7#d7 ,nassima al-,sadah1   

who campaigned for the right to drive   
and against the government's male       
guardianship laws2  7#e7 ,hatoon        
al-,fassi1 a professor of women's       
history who was one of the first ,saudi 
women to acquire a driver's license2 and
  7#f7 ,loujain al-,hathloul who spent  
#gc days in detention for defying the   
driving ban in #bjad-ae2 ,whereas one of
 the detained women1 ,aziza al-,youssef1
 is a ,united ,states permanent resident
 who maintains a residence in ,virginia2
 ,whereas ,saudi authorities1 on ,june  
#b1 #bjah1 announced that they would    
provisionally release eight individuals 
and refer nine individuals to trial1    
where they could face the following     
serious charges that carry penalties of 
up to #bj years in prison cooperating   
with entities hostile to the kingdom1   
recruiting persons in a sensitive       
government agency to obtain confidential
 information to harm the interests of   
the kingdom1 and providing financial and
 moral support to hostile elements      

abroad2 ,whereas1 in #bjab1 ,samar      
,badawi1 one of the activists detained  
by the ,saudi authorities1 received the 
,international ,women of ,courage ,award
 from the ,united ,states ,department of
 ,state2 ,whereas ,samar ,badawi's      
brother1 ,raif ,badawi1 has remained    
imprisoned in ,saudi ,arabia since #bjab
 and was publically flogged for his work
 calling for free speech on his website 
,free ,saudi ,liberals and his lawyer1  
,waleed ,abu al-,khair1 is serving a    
#ae-year sentence for his work defending
 human rights2 ,whereas1 according to a 
#bjah ,human ,rights ,watch report1     
,saudi interrogators tortured at least  
three of the ,saudi women activists     
detained beginning in ,may #bjah2       
,whereas the reports of torture include 
electric shocks1 whippings1 beatings1   
and sexual harassment and assault2      
,whereas1 according to news reports1 a  
top adviser of ,crown ,prince ,mohammed 
bin ,salman1 ,saud al-,qahtani1 has been
 present during interrogation sessions  

with the women's rights activists2      
,whereas1 on ,january #af1 #bjai1 more  
than #bjj academics from around the     
world sent a letter to the ,saudi ,king 
calling on the ,government of ,saudi    
,arabia to release ,dr ,hatoon          
,aiwad-al-,fassi and other women's      
rights advocates who remain in          
detention2 ,whereas the ,united ,states 
,senate resolved on ,international      
,women's ,day on ,march #h1 #bjah1 that 
the empowerment of women is inextricably
 linked to the potential of a country to
 generate economic growth1 sustainable  
democracy1 and inclusive security2      
,whereas the ,department of ,state's    
#bjag report on human rights practices  
in ,saudi ,arabia stated that the       
,government of ,saudi ,arabia's review  
of guardianship laws had not yet been   
completed1 that the ,government of      
,saudi ,arabia restricts the foreign    
travel of women1 and that the           
,government of ,saudi ,arabia continues 
to discriminate against women2 ,whereas 

the arrests of women's rights activists 
and their supporters since ,may #bjah   
are contrary to the ,government of      
,saudi ,arabia's stated reform goals2   
and ,whereas the detention and reported 
abuse of women's rights activists and   
the murder of ,jamal ,khashoggi1 a      
,washington ,post journalist and ,united
 ,states resident1 demonstrate a blatant
 disregard for human rights and the     
freedom of expression3 ,now1 therefore1 
be it ,that the ,senate--  7#a7 calls on
 the ,kingdom of ,saudi ,arabia to      
immediately release and drop any        
politically motivated charges against   
the detained ,saudi women's rights      
activists related to peaceful activities
 to advance human rights in ,saudi      
,arabia1 which are protected under      
international law2  7#b7 expresses      
concern over the reported use of torture
 by the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia   
against the women's activists1 and urges
 investigation into such allegations and
 the holding accountable of             

perpetrators2  7#c7 recognizes that the 
strategic relationship with ,saudi      
,arabia is in the national interest of  
the ,united ,states2  7#d7 reaffirms    
that the global recognition and         
protection of basic human rights1       
including women's rights1 is in the     
national security interest of the       
,united ,states2  7#e7 urges the        
,government of ,saudi ,arabia to reform 
its laws that restrict basic human      
rights1 including women's rights1 such  
as by abolishing the male guardianship  
system2  7#f7 urges the ,president and  
the ,secretary of ,state to affirm the  
support of the ,united ,states for the  
right of activists to peacefully        
advocate for the protection of universal
 human rights2  7#g7 calls on the       
,president to press the ,government of  
,saudi ,arabia to immediately release   
all political prisoners1 human rights   
defenders1 journalists1 and bloggers1   
including ,raif ,badawi1 ,waleed ,abu   
al-,khair1 and others who support       

religious freedom1 and the women's      
rights activists detained after ,may    
#bjah2 and  7#h7 calls on the ,president
 to comply with the request submitted   
under subsection 7d7 of section #abfc of
 the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights  
,accountability ,act 7subtitle ,f of    
title ,,xii of ,public ,law #aad-cbh2   
#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfef note7 for a         
determination under subsection 7a7 of   
that section with respect to the persons
 responsible for the murder of ,saudi   
journalist ,jamal ,khashoggi4