Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Jamal Khashoggi Protection for Dissidents and Journalists Act of 2022”.
Jamal Khashoggi Protection for Dissidents and Journalists Act of 2022
A BILL
To enshrine the legacy of Jamal Khashoggi by protecting dissidents and journalists, codifying the Khashoggi Ban, and introducing the Khashoggi Amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds the following:
Jamal Khashoggi was a resident of the United States living in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a Saudi journalist, a Washington Post columnist, and critical of the Saudi regime.
On October 2, 2018, Khashoggi was lured to the Consulate of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, Turkey under the false cover of needing to address a consular matter.
While inside the Saudi consulate, Khashoggi was murdered, and his body was dismembered by intelligence officers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence determined in 2018 that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi in Istanbul.
A highly credible inquiry by the United Nations concluded that Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated and that the mission was endorsed, planned, and overseen by senior Saudi officials.
Sec. 3 Khashoggi Amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
General exceptions to the jurisdictional immunity of a foreign state— Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended—
in paragraph (5)(B), by striking “or” at the end;
in paragraph (6), by striking the period and insertin “; or”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(7) in which money damages are sought against a foreign state for the personal injury or death of a United States person or resident taking place on or after October 2, 2017, anywhere other than on the territory of that foreign state, where the injury or death is a direct result of extraterritorial counter-dissident activities conducted by the defendant foreign state or its agents.”
Exceptions to the immunity from attachment or execution— Section 1610 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking “section 1605(a)(2), (3), or (5)” and inserting “paragraph (2), (3), (5), or (7) of section 1605(a)”.
Sec. 4 Khashoggi ban ground of inadmissibility
Section 212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(H) Khashoggi ban
“(i) In general—An alien who is determined by the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security to be acting on behalf of a foreign government and is believed to be directly engaged in serious, extraterritorial counter-dissident activities, including those that suppress, harass, surveil, threaten, or harm—
“(I) journalists;
“(II) activists;
“(III) other persons perceived to be dissidents for their work; or
“(IV) families or other close associates of the persons described in clauses (i) through (iii),
“(ii) Discretionary ban—Any alien who is a family member of an alien who is inadmissible under clause (i) may be inadmissible, as determined by the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security.
“(iii) Notification of determinations—If an alien is determined to be inadmissible under clause (i) or (ii), the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security shall make a public statement identifying the alien and the reasons for the determination.
“(iv) National security waiver—The Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the requirements of this subparagraph, or any part thereof, if such Secretary determines that such requirements do not serve the national security interest of the United States. Such waiver shall be made in writing to Congress and shall include a brief description of the national security reason for such waiver.
“(v) Authorization of appropriations—There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year thereafter to carry out this section.”