Sec. 2. Findings
504 words·~2 min read·
/bill/116/s/231/is/section-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: On August 19, 2016, a vehicle driven by Abdhulrahman Sameer Noorah, a Saudi national, struck and killed a 15-year-old Portland, Oregon, native while driving between 55 and 60 miles per hour, approximately twice the posted speed limit. Saudi Arabia’s Los Angeles consulate reportedly posted $100,000 bail to secure the release of Mr. Noorah. On June 17, 2017, while awaiting trial for indictments of manslaughter, felony hit-and-run, and reckless driving, Mr.
Noorah arrived in Saudi Arabia from Oregon, despite having surrendered his Saudi passport to Oregon law enforcement authorities. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Marshals Service have publicly revealed that the Government of Saudi Arabia likely played a role in Mr. Noorah’s repatriation back to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi consulate in Los Angeles is reported to have posted bond for at least 4 additional Saudi nationals: Abdulaziz Al Duways, Waleed Ali Alharthi, Suliman Ali Algwaiz, and Ali Hussain Alhamoud, who— were charged with serious criminal offenses in Oregon, beginning in 2012; fled from the custody of law enforcement authorities; and are still at large.
The Saudi consulate in Los Angeles posted a $100,000 bond for Ali Hussain Alhamoud, a Saudi national, who subsequently fled Oregon for Saudi Arabia in 2012 before facing trial on multiple sex-crime charges, including rape in the first degree. Saudi national and Portland University student, Suliman Ali Algwaiz, faced charges in 2016 for striking a homeless man with his vehicle, but he disappeared before completing his jail sentence. The Saudi consulate posted a $500,000 security deposit for Waleed Ali Alharthi, an Oregon State University student and Saudi national, who was arrested in 2015 on 10 counts of encouraging child sex abuse before fleeing to Paris, France, in the midst of court hearings.
The Saudi consulate posted a $500,000 bond for Abdulaziz Al Duways, a Western Oregon University Student and Saudi national, who was arrested in 2014 on the charge of rape, but subsequently disappeared before standing trial for the charge. Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, done at Vienna April 18, 1961, states— it is the duty of all persons enjoying [diplomatic] privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State ; and such persons also have a duty to not interfere in the internal affairs of that State .
The Government of Saudi Arabia’s flaunting of international norms and diplomatic law follows a pattern of disturbing behavior, including— the brutal murder of Washington Post contributor and United States resident Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul, Turkey; the jailing of prominent women rights activists, Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sada, and the ongoing detention of countless others, such as blogger Raif Badawi and human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair; failing to avoid civilian casualties in its use of military force in the Yemeni civil war; the shakedown of Saudi royals in the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and the detention of the Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad al-Hariri, against his will.