Additional Name(s): سید کرم عباسی
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Yarsani
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: December/1/2022
Date of Release: January/2/2023
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Civil Rights Work for Religious Communities Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Seyyed-Karam Abbasi was detained in relation to his religious belief and civil rights work.
On December 1, 2022, authorities in Saveh reportedly beat and arrested Abbasi, a Yarsani civil activist.
On January 2, 2023, Abbasi was reportedly released on bail.
Related Cases: Syeed-Amin Abbasi, Seyyed-Soroush Abbasi, Kaki Farzad Almasi, Siavash Hayati, Mansour Safayi
"سه شهروند یارسان با تودیع قرار آزاد شدند" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"Yarsan Civil Activist Seyyed-Karam Abbasi Arrested" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
"ساوه؛ سید کرم عباسی، شهروند یارسان بازداشت شد" Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA)
Dec 2, 2022
USCIRF Releases New Report on Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:
Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Victims List – This factsheet provides a background of USCIRF’s FoRB Victims List, a database that catalogues victims who have been detained, imprisoned, placed under house arrest, disappeared, forced to renounce their faith, and tortured for their religious belief, religious activity, and religious freedom advocacy. The report summarizes the FoRB Victims List’s congressional mandate as well as the standards and processes for including persons on the list.
USCIRF’s FoRB Victims List includes over 1,800 profiles. The following highlights some of the victims included in the database:
In its 2022 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate 15 countries as CPCs for engaging in or tolerating “particularly severe violations of religious freedom.” It also recommended 12 countries for placement on the SWL and seven non-state actors for redesignation as EPCs.
Individuals and organizations with credible information on victims can submit that information for possible inclusion in the database using the FoRB Victims List Intake Form.
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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): Ruslan Suleymanov, Сулейманов Руслан Серверович
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Russia
Ethnic Group: Crimean Tatar
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sunni
Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes
Appeal: Rejected
Sentence: 14 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: March/27/2019
Date of Sentencing: November/24/2022
Current Status: Not Released
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Ethnoreligious Identity Possession of Religious Materials Religious Association
Nature of Charges: Banned Organization Terrorism Treason & Sedition
Ruslan Suleimanov is imprisoned for his alleged religious activity.
On March 27, 2019, authorities arrested Suleimanov, a citizen journalist and activist from the Crimean Solidarity movement, after accusing him of being a member of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir organization. Authorities searched the homes of several activists and allegedly confiscated Hizb ut-Tahrir materials. Suleimanov was charged with “participating in the activities of an organization…recognized as terrorist” (Art. 205.5-2 RCC) and "preparing for actions aimed at the forcible seizure of power or the forcible retention of power” (Art. 30-1/Art. 278 RCC).
On November 24, 2022, the Southern District Military Court sentenced Suleimanov to 14 years in prison.
In November 2023, it was reported that Suleimanov has not received adequate medical care for congenital heart disease and tachycardia.
On February 1, 2024, the Military Court of Appeal upheld Suleimanov's sentence.
Suleimanov has three children.
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) advocates for Suleimanov as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.
Related Cases: Enver Ametov, Yashar Muyedinov, Rustem Sheikhaliev, Osman Arifmemetov, Eskender Suleymanov
Photo attributed to Memorial Human Rights Center
"Апелляционный суд утвердил сроки пятерым фигурантам второго симферопольского дела «Хизб ут-Тахрир»" OVD-Info
"Ruslan Suleymanov" Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
"Гражданский журналист Руслан Сулейманов пожаловался на бездействие врачей" Crimean Solidarity
USCIRF Issue Update: Russia’s Religious Freedom Violations in Ukraine July 2023
"Пятерых крымских татар приговорили к срокам от 13 до 14 лет лишения свободы" Political Prisoners. Memorial
"Сулейманов Руслан Серверович" Memorial Human Rights Center
"List of Individuals Recognised as Political Prisoners by the Memorial Human Rights Centre and Persecuted in connection with the Realisation of Their Right to Freedom of Religion as of 9 November 2021" Memorial Human Rights Center
"Crimean Tatar journalist faces 15-year sentence for ‘planning to overthrow the Russian regime’ with book on being alone with God" Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group
"Суд продлил Энверу Аметову срок содержания под стражей в СИЗО и отклонил апелляцию защиты" Crimean Solidarity
2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Ukraine - Crimea U.S. Department of State
"Симферопольское дело 25 о членстве в запрещённой «Хизб ут-Тахрир»" Memorial Human Rights Center
"The FSB is making a large number of arrests in an attempt to close down the Crimean Tatars’ human rights movement" Memorial Human Rights Center