Additional Name(s): Patrick Zaki, باتريك جورج زكي

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Egypt

Religion or Belief: Christian – Orthodox

Health Concerns: Asthma

Reports of Torture: Yes

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 3 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: July/18/2023

Date of Sentencing: July/18/2023

Date of Release: July/20/2023

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Religious Expression Religious Identity

Nature of Charges: Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials

Patrick George Zaki

Extra Bio Info:

Patrick George Zaki was imprisoned for his expression about his religious identity.

On February 7, 2020, authorities arrested Zaki, a graduate student and human rights researcher, at Cairo International Airport after he had returned home to Egypt from Italy. Zaki was reportedly beaten, stripped, and electrocuted by authorities before appearing with prosecutors. He was also verbally abused and threatened with sexual assault. Authorities originally charged Zaki with allegedly "joining a terrorist organization" and "spreading false information."

In September 2021, it was reported that Zaki had been indicted for “spreading false news inside and outside of the country” reportedly because of an opinion article he wrote in 2019 about being Coptic Christian in Egypt. In the article, titled “Displacement, Killing and Restriction: A Week’s Diaries of Egypt’s Copts," Zaki reacts to current events impacting Coptic Christians.

On December 7, 2021, the Mansoura Emergency State Security Court ordered Zaki's release pending trial.

On December 8, 2021, Zaki was released.

On July 18, 2023, the Emergency State Security Misdemeanors Court in Mansoura sentenced Zaki to three years in prison. He was taken into custody following the verdict.

On July 19, 2023, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pardoned Zaki. 

On July 20, 2023, Zaki was released. 

Zaki reportedly suffers from asthma which puts him at greater risk if he contracts COVID-19.

Sources:

Oct 29, 2021

USCIRF Releases Factsheet on China’s Measures on the Management of Religious Clergy

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

China Factsheet – This factsheet provides an overview of the new Chinese government Measures on the Management of Religious Clergy and their adverse impact on religious freedom in China. Issued in February 2021 and effective in May 2021, these new measures are part of a series of newly issued regulations that supplement the revised 2018 Regulations on Religious Affairs. The Measures subject clergy of the five state-sanctioned religious groups in China to tighter state control and surveillance. They also impose penalties on clergy who violate a complex web of state rules and policies aimed at curtailing religious freedom. Moreover, the Measures effectively ban religious activity by independent clergy who are not part of the five state-sanctioned religious groups.

Since its first annual report in 2000, USCIRF has recommended that the U.S. State Department designate China as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, for systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious violations in that country. In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF documented and expressed concern over the Chinese government’s abuses that targeted clergy members of various religious groups.

###

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): بهنام اخلاقی

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Iran

Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Appeal: Acquitted

Sentence: Originally 5 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: July/24/2019

Date of Sentencing: October/13/2019

Date of Release: January/1/2022

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Practicing Religion as a Convert Religious Activity Religious Belief

Nature of Charges: Illegal Assembly Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials

Behnam Akhlaghi

Extra Bio Info:

Behnam Akhlaghi was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.

On February 23, 2019, Akhlaghi was summoned to the Revolutionary Guard office and detained reportedly in relation to his church activity.  Other members of the Church of Iran in Rasht were reportedly arrested around the same time.

In March 2019, Akhlaghi was released on bail pending trial.

On July 24, 2019, Akhlaghi was remanded after reportedly being unable to pay the new bail set by the judge. During this hearing, it is also reported that Akhlaghi was not allowed to choose his own lawyer. 

On October 13, 2019, Akhlaghi was sentenced to five years in prison for “assembling and colluding to act against national security" (Art. 610 IPC).

In March 2020, Akhlaghi's appeal was rejected after he and his lawyer were reportedly not allowed to attend the hearing. 

In October 2021, a video of Akhlaghi discussing his arrest and detention circumstances was published, indicating he had been released on furlough at some point during the COVID-19 pandemic.  In the video, which is said to have been taken on October 1, 2021, Akhlaghi acknowledges the end of his furlough within a few hours and returning to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.

On January 1, 2022, Akhlaghi was reportedly conditionally released from Evin Prison pending a review of his case. 

In February 2022, a court of appeals acquitted Akhlaghi. 

In February 2022, a new case was reportedly opened up against Akhlaghi for "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC). 

On May 8, 2022, security forces reportedly arrested Akhlaghi in Rasht. He was reportedly released the next day.

Sources:
Subscribe to