Additional Name(s): བསོད་ནམས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, 索南嘉措

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: China

Ethnic Group: Tibetan

Religion or Belief: Buddhist – Tibetan

Reports of Torture: Yes

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 2 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: April/3/2021

Date of Sentencing: July//2022

Date of Release: May/23/2023

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Adherence to a Religious Figure

Nature of Charges: Unknown

Sonam Gyatso

Extra Bio Info:

Sonam Gyatso was imprisoned for his adherence to a religious figure.

On April 3, 2021, authorities in Aba (Ngaba) county, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (T&QAP), Sichuan, detained Gyatso, a monk from Kirti Monastery, at the monastery.

In July 2022, a court reportedly sentenced Gyatso to two years in prison for sending donations abroad to the Dalai Lama and Kirti Rinpoche, the leader of Kirti Monastery. 

On May 23, 2023, Gyatso was released from Menyang prison after completing his sentence.

While in prison, Gyatso was reportedly tortured. 

Related Cases: Rachung Gedun

Sources:

Additional Name(s): Rachung Gendun, རྭ་ཆུང་དགེ་འདུན་, 让琼格登

Gender: Male

Current Location: Mianyang Prison, Fucheng, Mianyang, Sichuan

Perpetrator: China

Ethnic Group: Tibetan

Religion or Belief: Buddhist – Tibetan

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 3 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: April/1/2021

Date of Sentencing: July//2022

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Adherence to a Religious Figure

Nature of Charges: Unknown

Rachung Gedun

Extra Bio Info:

Rachung Gedun is imprisoned for his adherence to a religious figure.

On April 1, 2021, authorities in Chengdu municipality, Sichuan province, detained Gedun, a monk from Kirti Monastery in Aba (Ngaba) county, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (T&QAP), while he was on vacation in Chengdu. 

In July 2022, a court reportedly sentenced Gedun to three years in prison for sending donations abroad to the Dalai Lama and Kirti Rinpoche, the leader of Kirti Monastery. 

Related Cases: Sonam Gyatso

Sources:

Feb 16, 2023

USCIRF Expresses Concern for the Integrity of Religious Sites in Jerusalem Area

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) reiterates the importance of ensuring freedom of worship and maintaining the integrity of religious sites in Jerusalem and surrounding areas amid ongoing conflict. In the wake of Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s visit to the region, USCIRF urges the U.S. government to continue to seek assurances for freedom of religious practice and worship pursuant to status quo agreements.

Recent attacks at sites of religious significance in and around Jerusalem restrict religious freedom for people of many different faiths. We hope that as Ramadan, Passover, and Easter approach, all houses of worship will be respected,” said USCIRF Commissioner Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum. “The U.S. government must continue to urge officials in the region to hold accountable the perpetrators of criminal acts at religious sites, and work actively to counter influential political voices inciting religious prejudice and violence that negatively impacts religious practice and worship.

There have been numerous attacks on churches, mosques, and synagogues over the past couple of years. In recent months, USCIRF has noted an uptick in the targeting of houses of worship and religious sites. These include Israeli settlers shattering windows of the Bab al-Zaqiya and al-Sadeq mosques in Hebron; two teenagers desecrating 50 graves in a Christian cemetery on Mount Zion; a terrorist opening fire on worshippers on the Jewish Sabbath near a synagogue in Neve Yaakov killing seven people and wounding at least three; and a man vandalizing a statue of Jesus at the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalem’s Old City.

These recent incidents targeting religious sites and worshipers are devastating. They risk further escalating a situation in which political violence and terrorism preclude people from safely manifesting their religion or beliefs. We are especially concerned over safety amid the uptick of violence in Jerusalem and surrounding areas,” said USCIRF Commissioner David Curry. “The U.S. government should stress that the existence of political conflict does not diminish the universal protections of Article 18 to freedom of religion or belief for people of all faiths and beliefs, and express this concern in bilateral discussions.”

In 2019, USCIRF published a factsheet on protecting houses of worship and holy sites, noting that places of worship and other religious sites should be sanctuaries where worshippers feel safe to practice their faith. In 2021, USCIRF published a factsheet on the religious freedom implications of the destruction of cemeteries.

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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].