1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protection of Saudi Dissidents Act of 2023 . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Jamal Khashoggi, a United States resident, Saudi journalist, and Washington Post columnist, was killed and dismembered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2, 2018. (2) At the time of his murder, Khashoggi was living in Virginia under an “O” visa and was in the process of applying for a permanent residency. (3) A report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) found that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Khashoggi. (4) The assessment of the ODNI was based on “the Crown Prince’s control of decisionmaking in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince’s support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad”. (5) The report also reiterates that “the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations” since 2017. 3. Restrictions on transfers of defense articles and services, design and construction services, and major defense equipment to Saudi Arabia (a) Initial period During the 120-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the President may not sell, authorize a license for the export of, or otherwise transfer any defense articles or defense services, design and construction services, or major defense equipment under the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq. ) to an intelligence, internal security, or law enforcement agency or instrumentality of the Government of Saudi Arabia, or to any person acting as an agent of or on behalf of such agency or instrumentality. (b) Subsequent periods (1) In general During the 120-day period beginning after the end of the 120-day period described in subsection (a), and each 120-day period thereafter, the President may not sell, authorize a license