[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1570 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1570
Marking the eighth anniversary of the unjust imprisonment of Dr.
Gulshan Abbas by the Government of the People's Republic of China,
condemning the use of transnational repression to retaliate against the
exercise of free speech in the United States, and calling for her
immediate and unconditional release.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 21, 2026
Mr. Moolenaar (for himself and Mr. Suozzi) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Marking the eighth anniversary of the unjust imprisonment of Dr.
Gulshan Abbas by the Government of the People's Republic of China,
condemning the use of transnational repression to retaliate against the
exercise of free speech in the United States, and calling for her
immediate and unconditional release.
Whereas Dr. Gulshan Abbas is a retired Uyghur medical doctor, mother, and
grandmother who was forcibly disappeared by authorities of the People's
Republic of China on September 10, 2018;
Whereas, on September 5, 2018, 5 days before the disappearance of Dr. Abbas, her
sister, Rushan Abbas, a United States citizen, exercised her right to
freedom of speech while participating in a public event at the Hudson
Institute in Washington, District of Columbia, where she criticized the
Government of the People's Republic of China's treatment of Uyghurs;
Whereas Dr. Abbas had no known history of political activism and her detention
has been widely understood as retaliation for the advocacy and speech of
her family members in the United States;
Whereas the detention of an individual in the People's Republic of China in
retaliation for the lawful speech and advocacy of a family member in the
United States represents a particularly egregious form of transnational
repression designed to intimidate, punish, and silence individuals
exercising fundamental freedoms on United States soil;
Whereas no person in the United States should be forced to choose between
exercising the fundamental right to freedom of speech and protecting
family members abroad from retaliation by a foreign government;
Whereas the ability of an authoritarian government to punish the relatives of
United States citizens for speech occurring in the United States
threatens not only the individuals and families targeted, but the
fundamental freedoms and national sovereignty of the United States;
Whereas Dr. Abbas was subjected to a secret trial in March 2019 and sentenced to
20 years in prison on charges including participating in organized
terrorism, aiding terrorist activities, and seriously disrupting social
order;
Whereas the family of Dr. Abbas did not learn of her sentence until December
2020, approximately 21 months after the secret trial;
Whereas the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in Opinion No.
88/2022, determined that the detention of Dr. Abbas was arbitrary and in
violation of multiple provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights;
Whereas Dr. Abbas suffers from medical conditions requiring regular care and
monitoring, heightening concerns regarding her health and treatment
during her prolonged imprisonment;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has engaged in a
systematic campaign of repression against Uyghurs and other
predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region, including arbitrary detention, forced labor, coercive
population-control measures, family separation, and restrictions on
religious practice and cultural expression;
Whereas Uyghurs and other individuals living outside the People's Republic of
China, including United States citizens and individuals residing in the
United States, have faced surveillance, threats, intimidation,
harassment, and retaliation against family members in an effort by
authorities of the People's Republic of China to suppress criticism
beyond its borders;
Whereas Congress has repeatedly condemned the arbitrary detention of Dr. Abbas
and called for her release;
Whereas, on May 13, 2026, the House unanimously agreed to pass House Resolution
1259, which called on the President to prioritize securing the release
of Dr. Abbas and other individuals unjustly detained by the Government
of the People's Republic of China during engagements with President Xi
Jinping;
Whereas the continued imprisonment of Dr. Abbas despite repeated bipartisan
appeals from Congress and the international community demonstrates the
need for sustained diplomatic pressure and accountability;
Whereas September 10, 2026, marks eight years since Dr. Abbas was taken from her
family and deprived of her freedom;
Whereas Dr. Abbas has 24 immediate and extended family members who are United
States citizens or reside in the United States, including her daughters
and sister, making her continued imprisonment a matter that directly
affects an American family and community;
Whereas for eight years, the children, grandchildren, siblings, and other loved
ones of Dr. Abbas have been denied her presence while continuing to
advocate for her freedom from the United States;
Whereas the case of Dr. Abbas is a stark reminder that transnational repression
is not an abstract foreign policy concern, but a direct challenge to the
ability of people in the United States to exercise their fundamental
freedoms without fear that a foreign government will retaliate against
their loved ones; and
Whereas defending the freedom of speech of people in the United States requires
opposing efforts by foreign governments to silence that speech through
coercion, intimidation, or retaliation against family members abroad:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) marks the eighth anniversary of the unjust and
arbitrary detention of Dr. Gulshan Abbas and stands in
solidarity with Dr. Abbas and her family;
(2) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of
China to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Abbas and
permit her to reunite with her family;
(3) condemns the Government of the People's Republic of
China for using the detention, imprisonment, harassment, or
intimidation of family members as a means of retaliating
against and silencing individuals exercising their fundamental
freedoms in the United States;
(4) affirms that attempts by any foreign government to
punish individuals or their family members because of speech
lawfully expressed in the United States constitute an
unacceptable form of transnational repression and an affront to
the fundamental freedoms and sovereignty of the United States;
(5) reaffirms that individuals in the United States must be
able to exercise their rights to freedom of speech, expression,
religion, association, and peaceful advocacy without fear that
a foreign government will retaliate against their relatives
abroad;
(6) calls on the President, the Secretary of State, and
other appropriate officials of the United States Government to
raise the case of Dr. Abbas at every appropriate opportunity in
bilateral engagements with officials of the People's Republic
of China, including at the highest levels, until she is
released;
(7) calls on the President to prioritize securing the
immediate release of Dr. Abbas in engagements with President Xi
Jinping and other senior officials of the People's Republic of
China;
(8) urges the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, to
use all diplomatic tools available to the United States to
secure the release of Dr. Abbas and other political prisoners
arbitrarily detained by the Government of the People's Republic
of China;
(9) calls on the United States Government to identify and,
where appropriate, impose sanctions and other accountability
measures on officials of the Government of the People's
Republic of China responsible for the arbitrary detention of
Dr. Abbas and for acts of transnational repression targeting
individuals in the United States and their family members;
(10) urges the United States Government to work with
allies, partners, and relevant international institutions to
press for the release of Dr. Abbas and to oppose the use of
arbitrary detention as an instrument of transnational
repression;
(11) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of
China, pending the immediate release of Dr. Abbas, to provide
verifiable information concerning her location, health, and
conditions of detention, permit regular communication with her
family, ensure access to necessary medical treatment, and
permit access by appropriate independent international
observers; and
(12) declares that the House of the Representatives will
continue to speak the name of Dr. Gulshan Abbas and advocate
for her freedom until she is reunited with her family.
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