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US lawmakers remember Iranian Mahsa Amini a year after her death

2023-09-15 18:20:45, Kosova & Bota CNA

US lawmakers this week marked the one-year anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in Iranian police custody, saying the protest movement sparked by her death was continuing. As VOA correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, US lawmakers are still divided on how to hold Iran accountable for human rights violations.

Mahsa Amini died in custody on September 16 last year, arrested, according to Iran's police, for violating the Islamic dress code. Her death sparked protests across Iran, which were recalled a year later in the US Congress.

“Protests led by women and girls, demanding dignity, respect and change, were brutally suppressed by the regime, leading to over 600 Iranians killed and nearly 22,000 arrested. The abuse of power in this way is unreasonable," says Dean Phillips, Democratic lawmaker.

Many Republicans in Congress are concerned that Iran continues its human rights abuses and is taking advantage of President Biden's administration's deal to unlock $6 billion in Iranian funds in exchange for the release of five American hostages.

"Iran is bragging about receiving these funds. The president of Iran says he will do whatever he wants with the money, even though it should be used for humanitarian purposes," says Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Analyst Behnam Ben Taleblu, who says he has received threats from the Islamic Republic, also criticized the deal.

"The latest payments may be paving the way for what is quickly emerging as a congressional override. The agreement also only blocks the nuclear program, but will not reduce Iran's illegal nuclear capabilities and infrastructure," says analyst Behnam Ben Taleblu.

The White House defended the deal on Thursday, saying the funds will be under stricter scrutiny after they are transferred.

"We will continue to oppose Iran, the regime's human rights violations. We will continue to oppose their destabilizing actions abroad, their support for terrorism," said John Kirby, spokesman for Homeland Security.

Analysts told US lawmakers this week that former President Donald Trump's decision to end the Iran nuclear deal put the United States in a difficult position.

"Diplomacy, negotiations, unblocking funds - these are the only measures that have ever worked," says Barbara Slavin, from The Stimson Center.

Meanwhile, House lawmakers passed the MAHSA bill this week, with bipartisan support, requiring President Biden to impose sanctions on Iranian leaders for ongoing human rights violations and support for terrorism./ VOA