WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) released the following statement ahead of the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death:

“One year ago, Mahsa Amini tragically died at the hands of the regime in Tehran, igniting a wave of courageous protests across Iran. Her death, and the bravery and strength of the Iranian women fighting for their basic freedoms, must not be in vain. We must do our part to hold the Ayatollah and other Iranian leaders accountable for their violence against civilians and the regime’s ongoing wave of repression, censorship, and human rights abuses against its people. We urge the Senate to pass our bipartisan MAHSA Act, which would hold the dictatorship in Iran accountable for Mahsa Amini’s death as well as the countless human rights violations the brutal regime is responsible for.”

Mahsa Amini, age 22, died on September 16, 2022, while in the custody of Iran’s morality police. Since the start of the anti-government protests in Iran, more than 500 people have been killed. Senators Padilla and Rubio have condemned her death and recently introduced the Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability (MAHSA) Act, which would impose economic sanctions on the leadership of the regime. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed companion legislation led by Representative Jim Banks (R-Ind.-03).

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