Free American Political Prisoners in Iran

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor of the House of Representatives again to introduce and talk to this body and to the American people about my constituent, Amir Hekmati. Amir is an American. He is a United States marine. He is a brother. He is a son. He is a Michigander. He grew up in my hometown of Flint, Michigan. He served this country in uniform, as I said, in the United States Marine Corps. He is of Iranian descent, though he was born in the United States.

In 2011, for the first time, he traveled to Iran to visit family he had never met, a grandmother he had never seen. He traveled under his own name, notified the Iranian Government that he was going to be there; and after just a couple of weeks, he was apprehended, disappeared. His family didn't know where he was for months until it was revealed that he had been tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for espionage, a charge that he is completely innocent of. In fact, the Iranian court of appeals, the appeals process, even set aside that conviction and set aside his death sentence. There was no evidence.

They did convict him and sentence him to 10 years, a conviction that is based on the fact that, under Iranian law, he is considered an Iranian citizen even though he was born in the United States and never had even been there before. But the fact that he had served in the Marine Corps created a set of facts that caused them to convict him of a crime and sentence him to 10 years.

It has been 3 1/2 years. For 1,354 days, Amir Hekmati has sat in Evin prison, a notorious prison in Tehran.

I have introduced, along with a number of other Members, a resolution calling for the immediate release of the Americans that Iran holds. It has 28 Republican cosponsors, 27 Democrats, and we are adding them every day.

This is not even a bipartisan issue; this is a nonpartisan question. It is beyond politics. This is about the rights of a free man being held in Iran. So I am asking my colleagues and the American people to get engaged, to call upon Iran to do what is right and release the Americans that they hold. And it is really important that this Congress speak with one voice and carry the voices of all the people that we represent, asking, telling Iran that if they think they can join the global community and continue to hold innocent Americans as political prisoners, they are wrong.

So, please, for those who want to, use the hashtag #freeamirnow to send a message to thank those Members, as I will, to thank those Members of Congress who have joined this resolution. I will be sending out on Twitter a thank-you to each Member who has done so, using #freeamirnow. I hope other Members of Congress and those across the country will join us.

Later today we will consider legislation that will define how Congress will review and offer its input on the potential Iran nuclear deal. It is really important that we negotiate with those who make this world more dangerous first before attempting other methods, and it is important that we give this negotiation a chance. But it is also very clear that it will be very difficult for this Congress and the American people to consider any understanding, any agreement, with Iran without considering their other behavior, whether it is this nuclear agreement or other engagement with this country. If they continue to hold Americans as political prisoners, it is impossible for us to ignore that fact.

It is very clear that we should never trade the freedom of innocent Americans for concessions at the negotiating table with Iran over their nuclear capabilities. Again, we should not make their freedom a part of this deal. They, meaning the American families who are worrying about their loved ones, don't want this; and I know that Amir Hekmati, himself, does not want to be part of the consideration, does not want to be traded for concessions at the nuclear negotiating table.

The onus is on Iran to do what is right, and it is critical that this body and all the people that we represent speak with a single voice and make it clear, as the Senate did in their resolution calling upon Iran to release these Americans. It is important that the people's body speak for the people of the United States and tell Iran loud and clear that you cannot hold Americans as political prisoners and be accepted into the international community.

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