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The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has scheduled to take up the resolution supporting Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.
The committee is scheduled to consider the resolution, a companion to the resolution that unanimously passed the House earlier this year – on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. It is the next step toward bringing S. Res. 385 before the full Senate.
The resolution, “Condemning the Government of Iran for its continued persecution, imprisonment, and sentencing of Youcef Nadarkhani on the charge of apostasy,” could not come at a more important time with Pastor Youcef’s attorney continuing to face imprisonment himself.
The Senate resolution supporting Pastor Youcef is a critical symbol of continued international pressure calling for his immediate release. You can learn more about the resolution below.
Another symbol of international support is the continued growth of the ACLJ’s Tweet for Youcef campaign. It is now reaching more than 2.3 million Twitter accounts daily in 234 countries and territories around the world.
As we are quickly approaching the 1,000th day of Pastor Youcef’s illegal imprisonment on July 8th, please urge your Senators to support the Youcef resolution.
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The Senate introduced S. Res. 385 on the same day the House unanimously passed its companion resolution. The Senate resolution:
(1) condemns the Government of Iran for its ongoing and systemic violations of the human rights of the people of Iran, including the state-sponsored persecution of religious minorities in Iran, and its continued failure to uphold its international obligations, including with respect to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
(2) calls for the Government of Iran to exonerate and immediately and unconditionally release Youcef Nadarkhani and all other individuals held or charged on account of their religious or political beliefs;
(3) calls on the President to designate additional Iranian officials, as appropriate, for human rights abuses pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514); and
(4) reaffirms that freedom of religious belief and practice is a universal human right and a fundamental individual freedom that every government must protect and must never abridge.
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