Washington, DC – Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today applauded President Obama for sanctioning human rights abusers in Iran.

“I applaud President Obama’s decision to invoke provisions in the recently enacted Iran sanctions legislation to take action against eight Iranian government officials responsible for carrying out serious human rights abuses. Both President Obama and the Congress are committed to protecting the rights of all Iranian citizens to participate in democratic and fair elections. This provision, originally authored by Rep. Mike McMahon (D-NY), freezes property and financial assets of those responsible for human rights abuses perpetrated against Iranians who dared to speak out against the flagrant attempt by the government in Tehran to manipulate the results of last year’s presidential election.”

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