Speech #970235822

However. the mechanism embodied in H.R. 6040 is wrong. If we pass this bill as written. we would tie the hands of our courts and condone the suppression of political dissent in some of the worlds most totalitarian countries. By gutting the political exception defense to requests for extradition. we would tell political refugees seeking sanctuary in this country that our most cherished principles of freedom of expression and individual liberty do not apply to them. By requiring our courts to jail foreign nationals solely on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations by foreign governments of violent activity. we would replace the fundamental safeguards of due process and probable cause with a system of arbitrary detention that is contrary to everything this country stands for. H.R. 6046 also would not allow our courts to question the motives of a country seeking extradition or to attempt to determine whether the approval of a request would subject the individual involved to persecution and torture based on his political beliefs once expelled from this country.