Bill Summary
This legislation, known as the "Defending United States Citizens and Diplomatic Staff from Political Prosecutions Act of 2019", aims to advocate for the release of United States citizens and locally employed diplomatic staff who have been unlawfully detained in Turkey. This bill also calls for the United States government to take action to ensure the fair and transparent resolution of these cases. It cites specific examples of individuals who have been wrongly detained and convicted without credible evidence, causing harm to their physical and psychological health. The legislation also outlines measures that the President should take, such as pressuring the Turkish government and potentially imposing sanctions, to secure the release of these individuals. The bill also requires regular reporting on the status of these cases and provides definitions for key terms used in the legislation.
Possible Impacts
1. The legislation could affect the wrongfully detained individuals and their families by advocating for their release and providing assistance to them.
2. It could also affect the Government of Turkey by imposing sanctions on senior officials responsible for the wrongful detention of United States citizens and locally employed staff.
3. The legislation could also impact the United States and Turkey's diplomatic relationship by calling for the restoration of democratic norms and respect for the rule of law and human rights in Turkey.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1075 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1075
To advocate for the release of United States citizens and locally
employed diplomatic staff unlawfully detained in Turkey, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 9, 2019
Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Durbin,
and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced the following bill; 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 Turkey, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Defending United States Citizens and
Diplomatic Staff from Political Prosecutions Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The United States Government employs thousands of local
nationals (in this Act referred to as ``locally employed
staff'') at its diplomatic missions, military bases, and other
official facilities around the world, generating employment and
economic opportunities in local economies and allowing the
United States Government to benefit from local expertise and
perspectives.
(2) Since February 2017, the Government of Turkey--a member
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (in this Act referred
to as ``NATO'') since 1952--has targeted at least 3 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 wrongdoing.
(3) As NATO allies, the United States and Turkey share a
commitment to ``safeguard the freedom, common heritage and
civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of
democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law'', as
enshrined in the preamble to the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty.
(4) Authorities in Turkey detained Hamza Ulucay--an
employee of the United States Consulate in Adana for more than
38 years--for nearly 2 years and convicted him of ``membership
in a terrorist organization'' without any credible evidence of
wrongdoing before releasing him on January 30, 2019, and
barring him from international travel.
(5) Authorities in Turkey have detained Metin Topuz--a
Foreign Service National Investigator at the United States
Consulate General in Istanbul for more than 36 years--since
September 25, 2017, on charges of ``membership in a terrorist
organization'', ``gathering state secrets for espionage'', and
``attempting to overthrow [the Government, Turkish National
Assembly, and the Constitutional Order]'', citing among other
things his routine communications with Turkish law enforcement
officers, which constituted a central part of his job
responsibilities as an employee of the United States
Government.
(6) Authorities in Turkey have held Mete Canturk--another
Foreign Service National Investigator at the United States
Consulate General in Istanbul for more than 30 years--under
house arrest since January 31, 2018, and subjected his wife and
daughter to travel bans and regular check-ins with police after
initially detaining them.
(7) As of April 9, 2019, Metin Topuz remains in jail, Mete
Canturk remains under house arrest, and Hamza Ulucay 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 wrongdoing.
(8) The physical and psychological health of these men
continues to be adversely affected by their prolonged and
indefinite detention, including significant weight loss and
aggravation of preexisting medical conditions.
(9) On November 15, 2017, then-Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Jonathan Cohen
testified to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in
Europe (commonly known as the ``Helsinki Commission'') that
``it appears to us that Mr. Ulucay and Mr. 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 Government''.
(10) In pursuing its legitimate right to bring to justice
the perpetrators of the failed July 2016 coup attempt, Turkish
authorities have subjected tens of thousands of other citizens
of Turkey to detention and criminal prosecutions, with some
subjected to official harassment based on specious claims and
guilt by association, reflecting a significant deterioration in
the respect of the Government of Turkey for the rule of law and
the human rights of its people.
(11) United States citizen and National Aeronautics and
Space Administration physicist Dr. Serkan Golge has spent more
than 2\1/2\ years in jail in Turkey and is currently serving a
5-year sentence on national security charges without any
credible evidence of wrongdoing.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) 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 timely, fair, and transparent
manner;
(2) the United States has a moral obligation to forcefully
advocate for the release of wrongfully detained locally
employed staff who endure arrest, detention, prosecution, and
imprisonment because of the personal risk they often assume to
themselves, their families, and their communities as a result
of their work for and affiliation with the United States
Government;
(3) 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 diplomatic, military, and other missions around
the world; and
(4) the President should--
(A) press the Government of Turkey, in coordination
with NATO allies, 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 timely,
fair, and transparent manner;
(B) urge the Government of Turkey, in coordination
with NATO allies, 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 prosecutions, detentions, and
dismissals, and by undertaking meaningful reforms to
ensure the independence of the judiciary in Turkey;
(C) consider, in coordination with NATO allies, in
order to secure the prompt release of wrongfully
detained locally employed staff and citizens of the
United States in Turkey, rescinding accreditations to a
commensurate number of diplomats from the Embassy of
Turkey to the United States; and
(D) support the extension of special immigrant
visas to Hamza Ulucay, Metin Topuz, and Mete Canturk
and their immediate families in recognition of their
distinguished service to the United States under
exceptional circumstances.
SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO WRONGFUL DETENTION OF
LOCALLY EMPLOYED STAFF AND UNITED STATES CITIZENS IN
TURKEY.
(a) In General.--The President shall impose the sanctions described
in subsection (b) with respect to any senior official of the Government
of Turkey the President determines, based on credible evidence, is, on
or after the date of the enactment of this Act, responsible for the
wrongful and prolonged detention of locally employed staff of United
States diplomatic missions or citizens of the United States in Turkey.
(b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions to be imposed under
subsection (a) with respect to an official described in that subsection
are the following:
(1) Inadmissibility to united states.--Ineligibility to
receive a visa to enter the United States or to be admitted to
the United States or, if the official has been issued a visa or
other documentation, revocation, in accordance with section
221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1201(i)), of the visa or other documentation.
(2) Blocking of property.--
(A) In general.--The blocking and prohibiting, in
accordance with the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), of all
transactions in all property and interests in property
of the official if such property and interests in
property are in the United States, come within the
United States, or are or come within the possession or
control of a United States person.
(B) Inapplicability of national emergency
requirement.--The requirements of section 202 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C.
1701) shall not apply for purposes of this paragraph.
(c) Exceptions.--
(1) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters
agreement and law enforcement objectives.--Sanctions under
subsection (b)(1) 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 States.
(2) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
(A) In general.--The authority to block and
prohibit all transactions in all property and interests
in property under subsection (b)(2) shall not include
the authority to impose sanctions on the importation of
goods.
(B) Good.--In this paragraph, the term ``good''
means any article, natural or man-made substance,
material, supply or manufactured product, including
inspection and test equipment, and excluding technical
data.
(d) Implementation; Penalties.--
(1) Implementation.--The President may exercise all
authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and
1704) to carry out this section.
(2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to
violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of
subsection (b)(2) or any regulation, license, or order issued
to carry out that subsection shall be subject to the penalties
set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to
the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act
described in subsection (a) of that section.
(e) 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 States.
(f) 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--
(1) 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 detention;
and
(2) 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 Turkey.
SEC. 5. REPORT REQUIRED.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and every 120 days thereafter, the President
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and leadership
a report that includes the following:
(1) 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
States, including--
(A) their status within the judicial system in
Turkey;
(B) where applicable, the dates of their detention,
arrest, indictment, trials, and convictions;
(C) a description of the access the Government of
Turkey grants to representatives of the United States
Government to the detained individuals and their
families;
(D) a description of the detention conditions in
which the detained individuals are held;
(E) a description of the ways in which the United
States Government is providing financial, legal, or
other assistance to the detained locally employed staff
and their families; and
(F) a description of United States Government
engagement with the Government of Turkey to secure the
release of the detained individuals.
(2) A list of the officials identified by the President
pursuant to section 4(a).
(3) A list of any waivers exercised by the President under
section 4(e), and the justification for each such waiver.
(b) Form; Publication.--
(1) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified
annex as necessary.
(2) Publication.--The unclassified portion of the report
required by paragraph (1) shall be posted on a publicly
available internet website of the Department of State.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Admission; admitted.--The terms ``admission'' and
``admitted'' have the meanings given those terms in section 101
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
(2) Appropriate congressional committees and leadership.--
The term ``appropriate congressional committees and
leadership'' means--
(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Relations, the
Committee on Appropriations, and the majority and
minority leaders of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Financial Services, the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on
Appropriations, and the Speaker, the majority leader,
and the minority leader of the House of
Representatives.
(3) United nations headquarters agreement.--The term
``United Nations Headquarters Agreement'' means the Agreement
regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at
Lake Success June 26, 1947.
(4) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully
admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the
United States or any jurisdiction within the United
States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.
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