Mar 1, 2024

USCIRF Urges Sanctions on Russian Officials Abusing FoRB Prisoners

Calls Attention to Russia’s Religious Freedom Violations and Crackdown on Civil Society

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urges the Biden administration to utilize all tools available to sanction and hold accountable Russian authorities, including de facto authorities, who target and abuse prisoners of conscience held for the peaceful exercise of their freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). This includes those involved in the imprisonment, mistreatment, and death of FoRB prisoners in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine.

“While USCIRF welcomes sanctions against Russian officials complicit in the death of Aleksey Navalny, we encourage additional sanctions for those imposing similar, horrific conditions on religious prisoners of consciences,” said USCIRF Chair Abraham Cooper. “We must not forget Sergei Magnitsky, who died fifteen years ago in a Russian prison after guards tortured and refused to provide him medical care. The treatment of Magnitsky led to the Global Magnitsky sanctions. These targeted sanctions are a vital tool used by the United States to hold human rights abusers—including religious freedom violators—accountable.”

In 2022, the U.S. government permanently reauthorized the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Through the Global Magnitsky Act, the U.S. government can issue visa bans and asset freezes against foreign persons responsible for “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” This tool has been used to enforce consequences on violators of religious freedom, including individuals involved in the wrongful detention of religious prisoners of conscience.

The Russian government has imprisoned hundreds of FoRB prisoners of conscience, many of whom have had to endure the same abhorrent conditions as Navalny. In February 2023, imprisoned Crimean Tatar Muslim Dzhemil Gafarov died after prison authorities repeatedly refused to provide him adequate medical care. In August 2023, Adam Kadyrov, the teenage son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, assaulted Nikita Zhuravel while he was in pretrial detention. A court on February 27 of this year sentenced Zhuravel to three and a half years in prison for blasphemy. Earlier this month, Ukrainian priest Stepan Podolchak was reportedly tortured to death after being abducted by Russian forces in the Kherson region of Russian-occupied Ukraine.

Additionally, human rights organizations, activists, and independent media working on religious freedom issues face closure and criminal prosecution related to their work. Also on February 27, a court in Moscow sentenced Oleg Orlov, co-chair of the human rights organization Memorial, to two and a half years in prison for protesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Memorial, under Orlov’s leadership, has extensively defended, reported on, and documented religious prisoners of conscience in Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea. Last year, USCIRF condemned Russia’s forced closure of the SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, a nongovernmental organization that conducts research on freedom of religion or belief issues.

“USCIRF commends the Biden administration’s support to strengthen civil society in Russia and encourages international partners to do the same. Independent civil society plays an invaluable role documenting violations of religious freedom and other human rights, exposing violators, and supporting victims, prisoners of conscience, and their families,” said USCIRF Commissioner Susie Gelman. “This is the third year of Russia’s illegal invasion in Ukraine and tenth anniversary of its illegal annexation of Crimea. Russia’s religious freedom violations continue to reach an unprecedented scale. The U.S. government cannot allow Russia’s brutal crackdown on religious communities, human rights organizations, and other groups working on religious freedom and countering disinformation to succeed.”

In Russian-occupied Ukraine, Russian forces have relentlessly suppressed Ukrainian religious communities by banning religious groups, shutting down houses of worship, and abducting, detaining, imprisoning, and torturing religious leaders and actors. Last year, USCIRF held a hearing on Russia’s religious freedom violations in Ukraine and Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. USCIRF also published two reports on Russia’s religious freedom violations at home and in Ukraine.

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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].