Additional Name(s): Francisco Odorico Castilblanco Castro
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Nicaragua
Religion or Belief: Christian – Catholic
Date of Detainment: January/2/2024
Current Status: Not Released
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Francisco Odorico Castilblanco is detained for his religious belief and religious activity.
On January 2, 2024, the Nicaraguan authorities arrested Castilblanco, a seminarian from the Diocese of Jinotega. His arrest comes amid a crackdown on the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Nicaragua
Religion or Belief: Christian – Catholic
Date of Detainment: December/29/2023
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: Yes
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Ervin López is detained for his religious leadership role.
On or around December 29, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested López, a priest from the Diocese of León. His arrest comes amid a crackdown on the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.
Related Cases: Silvio Fonseca, Héctor Treminio, Carlos Avilés, Fernando Calero, Marcos Díaz Prado, Mykel Monterrey, Raúl Zamora, Gerardo Rodríguez, Jader Hernández, Miguel Mántica
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Religious Freedom in Southeast Asia: Techno-Authoritarianism and Transnational Influences
Thursday, January 25, 2024
3:30 -5:00 PM ET
Virtual
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) hosted a virtual hearing on how Southeast Asian countries use techno-authoritarianism to undermine religious freedom and are increasingly borrowing such tactics from China and Saudi Arabia.
Despite growing civil society activism and economic development in recent decades, religious freedom conditions throughout Southeast Asia continue to stagnate or, in many places, decline. With the rise of technology and digital surveillance, alongside other transnational influences from outside the region, religious freedom is under increasing threat. The Burmese military disseminates hate speech and calls for widespread violence through social media to perpetrate atrocities against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya. In Indonesia, blasphemy charges increasingly cite social media as the source of the offending incident. Across Southeast Asia as a whole, transnational influences from outside the region threaten to change the political and legal landscape with major consequences for religious freedom and related human rights.
The first panel discussed trends in technology and digital surveillance throughout Southeast Asia impacting religious freedom. The second panel discussed transnational influences from outside of Southeast Asia, such as China and Saudi Arabia, that seek to fundamentally alter the religious freedom landscape.
Opening Remarks
Panel I
Panel II
Submitted for the Record
Statement from The Sikh Coalition
This hearing is open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the public, and the media. Members of the media should register online and can email [email protected] for any questions or to schedule an interview. The video recording of the hearing will be posted on the Commission website. For any additional questions, please contact [email protected].