USCIRF Commends Administration’s Efforts Negotiating Release of Religious Prisoners, Including a U.S. Citizen, Held in China

USCIRF Commends Administration’s Efforts Negotiating Release of Religious Prisoners, Including a U.S. Citizen, Held in China

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the U.S. government’s recent successful efforts to secure the freedom of those imprisoned or otherwise trapped in China on the basis of their religion, religious activity, or ethnoreligious identity, including Ayshem Mamut, the mother of former USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel. In November, the U.S. government reportedly negotiated the resettlement of three Uyghurs, including Mamut, from China to the United States as part of a broader prisoner swap between the two countries. Additionally, in September, the administration secured the release of American pastor David Lin, who spent nearly two decades in Chinese prison for his religious activities.

“We celebrate the reunion of Ayshem Mamut with former USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel and the rest of their family here in the United States,” said Chair Stephen Schneck. “USCIRF commends the Biden administration for its work to advocate for and secure the release and freedom of those persecuted in China on the basis of religion.”

“Despite this good news, millions of other religious minorities in China face horrible conditions both in and out of state custody,” said Vice Chair Eric Ueland. “The United States must pursue additional efforts to free more people as it did with these three Uyghur individuals.”

China today remains one of the world's worst violators of religious freedom. Authorities subject persecuted religious group members to a range of invasive and egregious treatment, including surveillance, harassment, travel bans, imprisonment, torture, medical neglect, forced labor, and forced assimilation. In its 2024 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State redesignate China as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].