Feb 15, 2022

USCIRF Mourns the Passing of Patriarch Abune Antonios

Washington, D.C. – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) mourns the passing of Patriarch Abune Antonios, the former leader of the Eritrean Orthodox Church. Patriarch Antonios died on February 9, 2022, at the age of 94 after spending a decade and a half under house arrest because of his religious beliefs and advocacy.  

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Patriarch Antonios. For 16 years, he was unable to leave his home or communicate freely with the outside world, all because he stood up for prisoners of conscience and resisted state demands to excommunicate members of his church,” said USCIRF Commissioner Jim Carr who advocated for Patriarch Antonios as part of the Religious Prisoners of Conscience (RPOC) Project.

In April 2004, Patriarch Abune Antonios was ordained head of the Eritrean Orthodox Church. However, after condemning government interference in church affairs and calling for the release of imprisoned Christians, Eritrean authorities removed him from his position in January 2006 and placed him under house arrest. In May 2007, the patriarch was forcibly disappeared from his residence and taken to an undisclosed location.  He was reportedly denied proper medical care throughout his custody.

“Eritrean authorities must be held accountable for the mistreatment of religious prisoners of conscience in their custody.” USCIRF Commissioner Carr added. “Detention until death on the basis of one’s religious beliefs or activity is absolutely unacceptable. The Eritrean government should be better than this.”

In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department redesignate Eritrea as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. Additionally, USCIRF’s August 2021 Eritrea Country Update noted positive steps the Eritrean government made to ease restrictions some religious communities as well as to release some religious prisoners of conscience; however, it also highlighted authorities’ continued exertion of complete control over religion and mandatory military service.

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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].

Additional Name(s): Marco Gerges, ماركو جرجس صليب شحاتة

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Egypt

Religion or Belief: Christian – Unspecified/Other

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Appeal: Rejected

Sentence: 5 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: June/14/2021

Date of Sentencing: January/29/2022

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Other) Online Activity

Nature of Charges: Blasphemy Immorality Miscellaneous Religious Crimes

Marco Girgis

Extra Bio Info:

Marco Girgis is imprisoned for blasphemy.

On June 14, 2021, authorities arrested Girgis for having pictures on his phone deemed to be offensive to Islam. He was reportedly detained a month before formally being interrogated by prosecutors.  During that interrogation, he was reportedly questioned about his alcohol consumption, his relationships with women, and images of a sexual nature found on his phone. When referring Girgis to court, authorities accused him of exploiting religion to promote extremist thoughts, publicly insulting Islam, insulting society’s values towards religions and their rituals, and misusing Facebook.

On January 12, 2022, prosecutors registered Girgis’s case as a misdemeanor under the following articles: “insulting heavenly religions” (Art. 98(f) ECC), “disturbing a religious ceremony” (Art. 160(1) ECC), “publishing a religious text in a way that distorts its meaning” (Art. 161(1) ECC), “assaulting Egyptian family values” (Art. 25 Cyber-Crime Law, 2018), “misusing social media” (Art. 27 Cyber-Crime Law, 2018), and more.

On January 29, 2022, the Cairo Economic Court sentenced Girgis to five years in prison for exploiting religion to spread extremist thoughts, contempt of Islam, and assaulting Egyptian family values. The court found him not guilty of misusing social media.

On September 12, 2022, an appeals branch of the Cairo Economic Court upheld Girgis's sentence.

Sources:

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: China

Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant

Health Concerns: Severe back pain, headaches, inflammation, dental issues, weight loss

Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes

Appeal: Rejected

Sentence: 7 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: March/5/2017

Date of Sentencing: March/22/2018

Date of Release: March//2024

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Humanitarian Work & Charitable Activities Religious Activity Religious Belief Religious Identity

Nature of Charges: Illegal Migration & Entry/Exit of Country

John Cao

Extra Bio Info:

John Cao was imprisoned because of his religious identity and missionary work.

On March 5, 2017, the Menglian County Police of Yunnan Province detained Cao, a pastor, humanitarian worker, and U.S. permanent resident, on the border between China and Burma, where he had engaged in humanitarian work since 2013. Human rights activists believed Cao was targeted for his religion since among the individuals crossing the border in Cao's group, only Cao and his other Christian colleague were detained. 

On March 28, 2017, Cao was formally arrested and charged with "illegally crossing the border" (Art. 322 CCL).

On March 22, 2018, Cao was sentenced to seven years in prison for allegedly “organizing illegal border crossings.”

On July 25, 2019, the Pu’er Intermediate Court upheld his conviction and sentence.

In September 2019, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Cao "was singled out due to his Christian faith and that the Measures were implemented against him in a manner that constituted profiling and discrimination on the basis of Mr. Cao’s religious identity."

In March 2024, Cao was released from prison after completing his sentence.

Cao was reportedly forced to live in inhumane living conditions and been denied medical adequate care. He reportedly suffers from severe back pain, headaches, inflammation, and dental issues and has experienced significant weight loss. 

Cao is married with two children. His wife and children are U.S. citizens. 

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) advocated for Cao as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.

Sources:
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