The Mahsa Amini Human rights and Security Accountability Act (MAHSA Act) is a bill that was first introduced to the 117th Congress in the wake of the Woman Life Freedom protests in Iran. Its intention is to put sanctions on the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran. [1] The bill was reintroduced as H.R. 589 [2] to the House of Representatives and as S.2626 [3] to the US Senate in the 118th congress.
Mahsa Amini was a 22-year-old Iranian woman who while on vacation in Tehran, she was arrested and died from a collapse in court as shown by the surveillance footage, She died three days later in their custody. [4] She was arrested for improperly wearing her compulsory hijab. [4] Her name became the codename for the Woman Life Freedom revolution.
Human rights abuses in Iran have been widely documented. They span from violation of the rights of ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQ communities, children, and religious minorities. [5] As a result of these violations, the UN has had a special rapporteur since 1984. [6] The current special rapporteur, Javaid Rehman is not allowed entry to Iran. In March 2023, Mr. Rehman expressed that, "The scale and gravity of the violations committed by Iranian authorities, especially since the death of Ms. Amini, points to the possible commission of international crimes, notably the crimes against humanity of murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual violence, and persecution." [7]
Moreover, the UN Human Rights Council has adopted resolution S35/1: [8]
“On the deteriorating situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially with respect to women and children, adopted on 24 November 2022, the Human Rights Council decided to establish an independent international fact-finding mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran." [8]
From the start of the Woman Life Freedom Revolution in September 2022 until mid-January 2023, 522 protestors were killed, 70 of them children. Close to 20,000 people have been arrested and imprisoned. [9] Many of the prisoners, including the two journalists who broke the news of Mahsa Amini's death, are still in prison. [10] [11] [12] Activists, artists, actors were/ are serving sentences, including a rapper, Toomaj Salehi, who has been in solitary confinement for more than five months without having committed any crimes. [13] [14] Several prisoners have received death sentences [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] with no access to proper council and several protesters have already been executed. [15] [17] [20] Many detainees have been tormented by physical, psychological, and sexual torture. [16] [17] [21]
More than 5000 schoolgirls were poisoned by chemical agents in organized, deliberate, distributed attacks spanning the whole country and affecting close to 100 schools between November 30, 2022, and March 16, 2023 . [22] [23] [24] The full list of atrocities committed against the people of Iran are beyond the scope and focus of this page, but to list a few, the downing of the Ukrainian passenger airliner (PS-572), the Bloody Aban Massacre, and Iran's consistent ranking as the country with the highest executions per capita in the world. [25]
The first major act of terrorism linked to the Islamist group that later forms the Islamic Republic of Iran was the arson of Cinema Rex killing more than 377 people. The Islamic republic has conducted several terrorist attacks directly or through proxies; a select list of which are included in Iran and state-sponsored terrorism. According to the March 2023 testimony of General Lloyd Austin, there has been 83 Iran-backed proxy group attacks against Americans since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. The following is a list of Iran-backed proxy groups according to Council on Foreign Relations: [26]
Country | Militia | Iranian Influence |
Afghanistan | Taliban | Weak |
Afghanistan | Fatimiyoun Brigade | Strong |
Bahrain | Al Ashtar Brigades | Strong |
Iraq | Kata'ib Hezbollah | Strong |
Iraq | Badr Organization | Strong |
Iraq | Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq | Strong |
Lebanon | Hezbollah | Strong |
Pakistan | Zainabiyoun | Strong |
Palestinian Territories | Hamas | Weak |
Palestinian Territories | Palestinian Islamic Jihad | Moderate |
Palestinian Territories | Harakat al-Sabireen | Strong |
Syria | Quwat al-Ridha | Strong |
Syria | Baqir Brigade | Strong |
Yemen | Houthi movement | Moderate |
After the Iran hostage crisis, the Iran–United States relations deteriorated. The United States designated Iran's Quds Force ,a branch of the Islmaic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), as a terrorist organization under president Obama's administration before designating the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization under president Trump's administration. The Islamic Republic has committed conducted terrorist activities and assassinations and attempted terrorism and assassination plots in many countries including: Turkey, [27] Greece, [28] Thailand, [29] Argentina, [30] Germany, [31] France, [32] United Kingdom, [33] and the US. [34] Some of these assassination plots were targeting former senior US officials including the former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. [35]
The United States Congress has made the following determinations. [1] [2]
Congress found the following:
MAHSA Act will require the President of the United States to annually determine whether the following sanctions apply to entities and individual: [2]
MAHSA Act was drafted by Xiyue Wang and introduced by congressman Jim Banks, and as of June 22, 2023, it has 128 cosponsors (60 Democrats, and 68 Republicans). [2] The bill has received lots of grassroots advocacy including call campaigns, Tweets, representative town hall attendance, and politician visitations by the Iranian-American citizens, communities, and allies. It has been endorsed by NUFDI, [36] the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA), [37] National Solidarity Group of Iran, [38] Alliance for the Rights of all Minorities (ARAM), [36] Iran Working Group of the International Religious Freedom Roundtable, [36] the International Organization to Preserve Human Rights (IOPHR), [36] the Cyrus Forum, [36] the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), [36] and United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). [36]
The bill was Marked-up by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. It passed the committee with unanimous consent voice vote with an amendment from Representative Cory Mills. [2] [39] On June 22, 2023, the bill was reported by the House Foreign Affairs Committee and placed on the Union Calendar to be voted on the House floor. [2]
HR 589 was considered under suspension of rules and passed the House floor with overwhelming majority of the representatives voting for it. 410 representatives voted for the MAHSA Act (209 Republicans and 201 Democrats), Representatives Ilhan Omar, Thomas Massie, and Cori Bush voted against the bill, and 20 representatives did not vote on the bill. [2]
MAHSA Act's Senate companion bill was introduced to the Senate by Senators Marco Rubio and Alex Padilla on 7/27/2023. [3] [40] According to the Iran International, Senator Ben Cardin was holding up MAHSA Act from being considered for a markup session by the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. [41] [42] However, with continued advocacy of mostly the Iranian-American community, it was scheduled for a marked-up on April 16, 2024. [43]
On April 16, 2024, the Senate bill was marked up in Senate Committee on Foreign Relations with some amendments by Senators Schatz, Cardin, and Murphy which weakened the bill by adding a sunset clause of 4 years to the bill, broad sanction exceptions, and additional sanctions waiver along with some additional items to cover cyberattacks and sanctioning those responsible for empowering the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Many activists and Iranian American groups voiced their strong dissatisfaction with the fundamental weakening of the bill, especially with the sanction exceptions that would highly limit the execution of the bill by the executive branch. [44] Senator Cardin also received strong criticism due to his failure to meet his human rights commitments. The point of contention was due to Senator Cardin adding language that prevented holding the regime in Iran accountable for past human rights violations, and they would only be responsible for future violations. This change to weaken the bill made many activists extremely upset and with many voicing their concerns on social media. Due to these fundamental changes, activists and human rights groups urged Congress to use the House version of the bill to advance in the legislative process. [45]
The MAHSA Act (the same version that had previously passed the House) passed with a bipartisan and overwhelming majority of the Representatives (360 Yea to 58 Nay) on April 20th, 2024. It passed in the Senate on April 23rd, 2024 as a part of the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act package which passed as a part of the National Security Act, 2024 and signed into law by President Joseph Biden in April 2024. [46]
Benjamin Louis Cardin, is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maryland, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for Maryland's 3rd congressional district from 1987 to 2007. Cardin served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1967 to 1987 and as its speaker from 1979 to 1987, the youngest person to ever hold the position. In his half-century career as an elected official, he has never lost an election.
Mohammad-Javad Ardeshir Larijani is an Iranian conservative politician and former diplomat. He is currently a top adviser to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in foreign affairs and secretary of High Council for Human rights, Judiciary of Islamic Republic of Iran.
Faezeh Hashemi Bahramani, better known as Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani is an Iranian women's rights activist, politician and former journalist who served as a member of Iranian parliament from 1996 to 2000. She is also president of Executives of Construction Party women's league and the former editor-in-chief of Zan newspaper.
The Basij or Niru-ye Moghāvemat-e Basij, full name Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin, is a paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and one of its five branches. The force is named Basij; an individual member is called basiji in the Persian language. As of July 2019, Gholamreza Soleimani is the commander of the Basij.
The United States has since 1979 applied various economic, trade, scientific and military sanctions against Iran. United States economic sanctions are administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury. Currently, United States sanctions against Iran include an embargo on dealings with the country by the United States, and a ban on selling aircraft and repair parts to Iranian aviation companies.
The American Iranian Council (AIC) was formed in 1990 as a US-based bi-partisan think tank focused upon promoting better relations between the United States and Iran. Former United States Secretary of State Cyrus Vance was the original honorary Chair of the organization. The AIC is an academic research and education organization that is focused upon improving the dialogue between two countries that often fail to take into account misperceptions, misunderstandings, and mischaracterizations. The AIC seeks to help policy makers as well as concerned citizens become better aware of the interests in common to both countries.
Tasnim News Agency is a semi-official news agency in Iran associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Launched in 2012, its purpose is to cover a variety of political, social, economic and international subjects along with other fields.
Hossein Salami is an Iranian military officer who is the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Born in Golpayegan, he joined the IRGC when the Iran–Iraq War started, when he was a college student. He rose through the ranks, becoming deputy commander. On 21 April 2019, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, appointed him as the new Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, replacing major general Mohammad Ali Jafari.
Ebrahim Raisolsadati, commonly known as Ebrahim Raisi, is an Iranian Principlist politician, Muslim jurist, and the eighth and current president of Iran since 3 August 2021, following his election to the presidency in the 2021 election.
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The Guidance Patrol or morality police is an Islamic religious police force and vice squad in the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Guidance Patrol enforce Sharia–Islamic law—per laws in Iran; this is most often the enforcement of Islamic dress code, such as ensuring women in the country wear hijabs. The Guidance Patrol was formed in 2005 as a successor organisation to the older Islamic Revolution Committees, and reports to the Supreme Leader.
Esmail Qaani is an Iranian brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and commander of its Quds Force — a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial terror and clandestine operations. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, appointed Qaani to succeed Qasem Soleimani as Commander of the Quds Force.
On 16 September 2022, 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini, died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances. The Guidance Patrol, the religious morality police of Iran's government, arrested Amini for allegedly not wearing the hijab in accordance with government standards. The Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated that she had a heart attack at a police station, collapsed, and fell into a coma before being transferred to a hospital. However, eyewitnesses, including women who were detained with Amini, reported that she was severely beaten and that she died as a result of police brutality, which was denied by the Iranian authorities. The assertions of police brutality, in addition to leaked medical scans, led some observers to believe Amini had a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke due to head injuries received after her arrest.
Civil unrest and protests against the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran associated with the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini began on 16 September 2022 and carried on into 2023, but were said to have "dwindled" or "died down" by spring of 2023. As of September 2023, the "ruling elite" of Iran was said to remain "deeply entrenched" in power. The protests were described as "unlike any the country had seen before", the "biggest challenge" to the government, and "most widespread revolt", since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Woman, Life, Freedom is a slogan that originated within the women-led Kurdish movements. This slogan transcended its initial context and garnered global recognition following the 2022 protests in Iran, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, who was in custody of Iran’s morality police for “improper” clothing. The phrase rapidly became a universal rallying cry, symbolizing resistance against oppression and the fight for women's rights.
This is a broad timeline of the ongoing series of protests against the government of Iran, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022. Amini had fallen into a coma after having been detained by the Guidance Patrol, allegedly for wearing an "improper" hijab—in violation of Iran's mandatory hijab law—while visiting Tehran from Saqqez.
The ongoing Mahsa Amini protests broke out following the death of Mahsa Amini while she was under arrest by the Guidance Patrol of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Reactions to her death and the following crackdown on protestors by law enforcement are both domestic and international.
Deaths during the Mahsa Amini protests refer to those people who were killed due to Iran's nationwide protests of 2022, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Jina Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, in a Tehran hospital under suspicious circumstances.
Bahman Reyhani is an Iranian commander. On June 20, 2014, he was appointed as the commander of the Kermanshah Nebi Akram Corps, a Kurdish force in the IRGC located in Kermanshah province, based on the order of Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the IRGC at the time, in a ceremony attended by Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the IRGC at the time. Reyhani has played a decisive role in helping the victims of the 2018 Sarpol-e Zahab earthquake. Bahman Reyhani was included in the sanctions list of the European Union on December 21, 2022, due to gross violations of human rights in Iran.
Mahsa Amini, also known as Jîna Emînî, was a Kurdish woman whose arrest in Tehran for opposing mandatory hijab and subsequent death in police custody sparked a wave of protests throughout Iran. People and governments around the world reacted widely to her death. Her death sparked widespread protest in Iranian society, resulting in major protests in various cities in Iran and acts of solidarity around the world. Amini's death ignited the global Woman, Life, Freedom movement - "Woman, Life, Freedom", which demands the end of compulsory hijab laws and other forms of discrimination and oppression against women in Iran. She and the movement were selected as candidates for the Sakharov Prize in 2023 by European Parliament for defending freedom and human rights.