USCIRF Calls on Iran to Remove Restrictions on Golrokh Iraee Following Release from Prison

Washington, D.C. – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today expressed relief that religious prisoner of conscience Golrokh Iraee has been released from prison in Iran. Iraee’s release is accompanied by a two-year restriction on travel and joining political groups.

“We are relieved Golrokh Iraee’s detention has ended, yet she and so many other Iranian women continue to endure blatant religious freedom violations for peacefully expressing their beliefs,” said USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava, who advocates for Iraee as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience project. “We call on Iranian authorities to remove Ms. Iraee’s two-year ban on travel and participation in political groups and cease the persecution of Ms. Iraee and other women on supposed religious grounds.”

In 2015, a Tehran court sentenced Iraee for “insulting Islamic sanctities” over a short story she wrote criticizing the religiously grounded practice of stoning adulterous women to death. She was sentenced in absentia to an additional year in prison last April for “spreading propaganda against the state.” Iraee was held in inhumane conditions throughout her imprisonment. Prison guards assaulted her on several occasions, and she was often transferred to wards with those convicted of violent crimes. In April 2018, Iraee’s health deteriorated greatly after she went on hunger strike to protest prison conditions.

“Golrokh Iraee’s long-overdue release follows years of prison mistreatment, denial of due process, and being prevented from seeing her husband Arash Sadeghi, who is ill with cancer,” added Commissioner Bhargava. “The U.S. government should sanction and hold accountable the high-level Iranian officials responsible for Ms. Iraee’s mistreatment.”

In its 2022 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S State Department designate Iran as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its ongoing, systematic, and egregious religious freedom violations. USCIRF published a country update highlighting Iran’s escalation of religious repression in 2021.

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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].

USCIRF Calls for Panchen Lama’s Release

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is once again calling for the release of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, whom the Chinese government forcibly disappeared 27 years ago. On May 14, 1995, His Holiness the Dalai Lama chose the then six-year-old Gedhun to be the 11th Panchen Lama, the second highest position in Tibetan Buddhism. Three days later, the Chinese government abducted him, only to announce its own selection of the Panchen Lama months later.

“The international community will never forget Gedhum Choekyi Nyima, now one of the world’s longest-held prisoners of conscience.  We will continue to bring attention to his case until he is free, no matter how long it takes,” said USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza who advocates for Gedhun as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience (RPOC) Project. “We call on the Chinese government to show proof of Gedhun’s wellbeing and allow independent experts to visit him.”

Chinese authorities continue to target high-profile Tibetan Buddhist religious figures and supporters of the Dalai Lama. In 2021, monk Sherab Gyatso, a well-known religious philosopher and religious education advocate, was sentenced to 10 years in prison allegedly for “inciting separatism.” Reportedly, he is not receiving necessary medical care while in prison, following a pattern of state mistreatment of Tibetan prisoners that have resulted in many deaths.

“The U.S. government must continue to identify and sanction Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for severe religious freedom violations, as it did when it sanctioned Chen Quanguo, who developed the genocide playbook being used against Uyghurs in Xinjiang when he was the Communist Party Secretary of Tibet,” added USCIRF Vice Chair Nury Turkel. “USCIRF urges the U.S. government to ensure that the Tibetan Policy and Support Act is fully enforced and work with like-minded countries to hold accountable the Chinese government for its severe violations of religious freedom.”

In its 2022 Annual Report, USCIRF documented the Chinese government’s continued suppression of Tibetan Buddhism. In an effort to sinicize religion in Tibet, local authorities organized seminars to indoctrinate monks and nuns at Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, restricted Tibetans’ access to temples with heavy security presence, and destroyed sites and symbols of religious significance. Since 1999, USCIRF has recommend that the U.S. Department of State designate China as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of international religious freedom.  The U.S. State Department has designated China as a CPC since 1999.

U.S. Representative James McGovern also advocates on behalf of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima through the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission’s Defending Freedoms Project.

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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]. 

USCIRF Releases New Report on Burma

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:

Pursuing Justice and Accountability: Next Steps for the Rohingya Community of Burma – On March 21, 2022, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced the Biden Administration had determined that the atrocities committed by the Burmese military, known as the Tatmadaw, against the Rohingya community constitute genocide and crimes against humanity. This factsheet provides an overview of the international crimes committed by the Tatmadaw underlying this designation. It also explores the three ongoing international legal cases seeking justice for the Rohingya and highlights actions the U.S. government has taken to support these cases. While this determination acknowledges the gravity of the crimes committed against the Rohingya community and affirms their human rights and dignity, it must be followed by increased action to promote justice and accountability. To this aim, this factsheet reiterates USCIRF’s recommendations from its 2022 Annual Report on how the U.S. government can further support justice for Rohingya survivors and ensure that the genocide determination paves the way toward meaningful accountability.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has monitored religious freedom conditions in Burma since 1999, when it first recommended that the country be designated by the U.S. Department of State as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). In its 2022 Annual Report, USCIRF again recommended Burma continue to be designated as a CPC. In May and July 2021, USCIRF held two hearings on ending genocide which touched upon the conditions of Rohingya in Burma and explored opportunities to hold the Tatmadaw accountable for the atrocities committed against Rohingya. USCIRF has also highlighted the situation for the Rohingya community in Burma on an episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast immediately following genocide determination.

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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].