New York – May 4, 2011 - Iran180, a broad-based coalition demanding “human rights, not nuclear rights" for Iran, hailed the introduction of Iran Human Rights and Democracy Promotion Act of 2011 in both Congress and the House.

The legislation, a bipartisan effort involving Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Rep. Robert Dold (R-IL), and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), would mandate the administration to appoint a special representative on human rights and democracy in Iran. The Act would also impose sanctions on companies that sell or service products that enable the Iranian regime to oppress its people, such as communications spying equipment.

“Iran180 salutes Senators Kirk and Gillibrand and Representatives Dold and Deutch for this important bi-partisan initiative in solidarity with the subjugated people of Iran," said Michael S. Miller, Executive Vice President and CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY), one of the founding Iran 180 organizations. ”This proposed legislation sends a clear message to the Iranian regime. So long as Khamenei, Ahmadinejad and their cohorts continue the twin policies of domestic repression and nuclear weapons attainment, they will be confronted at every step.”

The introduction of the legislation follows the recent release of the State Department’s 2010 report on human rights in Iran, which concluded that “security forces under the government’s control committed acts of politically motivated violence and repression, including torture, beatings, and rape.” According to the report, “security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals, often holding them incommunicado. Authorities held political prisoners and continued to crack down on women’s rights activists, ethnic minority rights activists, student activists, and religious minorities.”

Iran180 is a movement of people and organizations who have come together as a unified voice to demand a 180 by the Iranian government on their pursuit of nuclear weapons and the treatment of their citizens. For more information, contact Negin Hadaghian, Iran180’s Director of Outreach at [email protected] or 646-789-1488.

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