1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Defending United States Citizens and Diplomatic Staff from Political Prosecutions Act of 2019 . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The United States Government employs thousands of local nationals (in this Act referred to as locally employed staff ) at its diplomatic missions, military bases, and other official facilities around the world, generating employment and economic opportunities in local economies and allowing the United States Government to benefit from local expertise and perspectives. (2) Since February 2017, the Government of Turkey—a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (in this Act referred to as NATO ) since 1952—has targeted at least 3 locally employed staff of United States consulates in Turkey with national security charges stemming from their routine job responsibilities on behalf of the United States Government and without providing any credible evidence of wrongdoing. (3) As NATO allies, the United States and Turkey share a commitment to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law , as enshrined in the preamble to the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty. (4) Authorities in Turkey detained Hamza Uluçay—an employee of the United States Consulate in Adana for more than 38 years—for nearly 2 years and convicted him of membership in a terrorist organization without any credible evidence of wrongdoing before releasing him on January 30, 2019, and barring him from international travel. (5) Authorities in Turkey have detained Metin Topuz—a Foreign Service National Investigator at the United States Consulate General in Istanbul for more than 36 years—since September 25, 2017, on charges of membership in a terrorist organization , gathering state secrets for espionage , and attempting to overthrow [the Government, Turkish National Assembly, and the Constitutional Order] , citing among other things his routine communications