Bill Text: VA HR366 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending the Reverend Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and the Reverend Abdulmonem Abdumalawa.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-03-07 - Bill text as passed House (HR366ER) [HR366 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HR366-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, the Reverend Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and the Reverend Abdulmonem Abdumalawa fled with their families from persecution and imprisonment in the Republic of the Sudan to make their homes in Chesterfield County and Richmond; and
WHEREAS, as ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and Abdulmonem Abdumalawa not only ministered to their tiny Christian flocks, but also offered food, water, clothing, and medical care to their Muslim brothers and sisters in the overwhelmingly Muslim country, who were suffering during the civil unrest caused by the repression of Sudanese dictator Brigadier General Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir in the regions of Darfur, the Nuba Mountains, and beyond; and
WHEREAS, while working with Czech pastor and journalist Petr Jasek to document the atrocities in Sudan, Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and Abdulmonem Abdumalawa helped collect funds to pay for the medical treatment of a young student, Ali Omer, who had been seriously burned during a demonstration against the actions of the al-Bashir regime; and
WHEREAS, Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and Abdulmonem Abdumalawa were arrested on December 18, 2015, and held in prison for almost two years awaiting trial, during which time they suffered persecution and physical abuse on a daily basis for their Christian faith, not only from the police and prison guards, but from their Muslim cellmates as well; and
WHEREAS, on January 29, 2017, Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and Abdulmonem Abdumalawa were each sentenced to serve 12 years in prison for "aiding and abetting espionage," a verdict so patently unjust and outrageous that Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor's mother, who was present in the courtroom, suffered shock, fainted, and had to be escorted out of the courtroom; and
WHEREAS, the arrest and prosecution of Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and Abdulmonem Abdumalawa sparked international protest, including an urgent resolution passed in October 2016 by the European Parliament calling for their immediate and unconditional release; and
WHEREAS, despite international pressure, including the issuance by the International Criminal Court of an arrest warrant against the dictator Omar al-Bashir for war crimes in the Darfur region, the Sudanese government stubbornly refused to release Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and Abdulmonem Abdumalawa; and
WHEREAS, but for the direct personal intervention of a member of the Virginia delegation to the United States House of Representatives, who, on his own initiative, travelled to Sudan to engage in direct negotiations with Omar al-Bashir, which resulted in their release, Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and Abdulmonem Abdumalawa would very likely have languished for years in prison; and
WHEREAS, on September 27, 2017, the family of Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor, including his wife Awdaia Ismail, his mother, Samia Mahmoud, and his children, Fibe Kodi, Joshua Kodi, Abari Kodi, Philemon Kodi, Joyce Kodi, Tom Kodi, and Tombor Kodi, were admitted to the United States; and
WHEREAS, Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor, in speaking recently about his family's new life here in the Commonwealth said, "We as family are thankful to God for all things that He is doing for us and through us; we are safe, enjoying freedom, and the kids are doing great with their education. That is a blessing"; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Reverend Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and the Reverend Abdulmonem Abdumalawa hereby be commended; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to the Reverend Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor and the Reverend Abdulmonem Abdumalawa as an expression of the high esteem of the House of Delegates.
