FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2018
 

Burma Not Safe for Returning Rohingyas, Warns USCIRF

WASHINGTON, DC — Responding to the recent announcement by the governments of Burma and Bangladesh that repatriation efforts for Rohingya Muslim refugees will begin next month, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga, who visited Burma last year, cited evidence of continued atrocities committed by the Buddhist-majority Burma as one of several reasons the announcement is premature. An estimated 921,000 Rohingya refugees currently reside in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, many of whom fled brutal violence in Burma at the hands of Burma’s military and other nonstate actors.

“Not only have Rohingya Muslims received no assurance of their physical safety when they return to Burma,” said Arriaga, “but there have been no guarantees of protection for their properties, livelihoods or basic human rights, including religious freedom.  While we support continued negotiations between the two countries, there is still much to be done before it is safe for these refugees to return to their homeland in a manner that is both dignified and voluntary.”

USCIRF has called on the State Department to redesignate Burma as a “country of particular concern” and to continue to impose targeted sanctions, such as visa bans and asset freezes, on specific abusers in the Burmese military and among nonstate actors.

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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 threats to 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 or belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2018

USCIRF Welcomes Pakistani Supreme Court’s Decision to Overturn Death Sentence Against Asia Bibi

WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the decision by Pakistan’s Supreme Court to overturn the death sentence handed down in 2010 against Asia Bibi, a Roman Catholic mother of five. Following a 2009 accusation of blasphemy, Bibi was convicted and handed down a death sentence—a decision upheld by the Lahore High Court. Her execution was stayed following an appeal to the Supreme Court. Partly because of their defense of Bibi, two Pakistani government officials—Shahbaz Bhatti, a cabinet member, and Salmaan Taseer, the then governor of Punjab—were murdered in 2011.

USCIRF Chair Tenzin Dorjee said, “The case of Asia Bibi illustrates the extent to which blasphemy laws can be exploited to target minority communities. These laws seek to protect entire religions rather than the individual, as should be the case under international human rights standards. It is deeply troubling that Bibi’s case even reached this level, where she almost became the first person in Pakistan’s history to be executed for the crime of blasphemy.”

In anticipation of the likelihood of an outbreak of social unrest following this decision, USCIRF urges Pakistani authorities to ensure Asia Bibi’s safety upon her release. And while USCIRF welcomes this decision, it again calls on the government of Pakistan to release the 40 individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges and to repeal its blasphemy laws. Among the imprisoned is Abdul Shakoor, an 80-year-old Ahmadi bookseller for whom USCIRF is advocating through its Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.

Every year since 2002, USCIRF has recommended that Pakistan be designated as a “country of particular concern” for “ongoing, systematic, egregious violations of religious freedom.” USCIRF has also called for the use of tools such as the denial of visas and the freezing of assets against specific individuals who have participated in or have been responsible for severe violations of religious freedom.

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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 threats to 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] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2018

USCIRF Calls on Yemen to Release Persecuted Baha’is

The accused include eight women and a teenage girl and the penalty for many is death

WASHINGTON, DC — Tenzin Dorjee, Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today expressed increasing concern over the mounting persecution of Baha’is in Yemen by the Houthi-controlled government.

“I am gravely concerned for the safety of members of Yemen’s Baha’i community,” said Chair Dorjee. “This persecution on the basis of religious identity is unconscionable and must stop immediately. USCIRF calls for the unconditional release and dropping of all charges against members of Yemen’s peaceful Baha’i community.”

On September 15, 2018, the Houthi-controlled Specialized Criminal Court in Sana’a, Yemen issued an indictment against 22 Baha’is alleging apostasy and espionage. The accused include eight women and a teenage girl. The penalty for many of these charges is death. Five Baha’is remain in detention. On October 11, Abdullah al-Olfi, spokesman for the Baha’i in Yemen, was also detained and released three days later.

In January 2018, USCIRF noted with deep concern that since 2017, the larger Baha’i community in Yemen had faced a proliferation of mass arrests, raids on homes and offices, forced closure of community organizations, and hostility from officials. USCIRF also reiterates its strong condemnation of a death sentence against prominent Yemeni Baha’i leader Hamid bin Haydara. Mr. bin Haydara was arrested in December 2013 by Yemen’s National Security Bureau, which beat him and tortured him using electric shock. On January 2, 2018, the judge sentenced Mr. bin Haydara to public execution. The verdict also ordered the confiscation of Mr. bin Haydara’s assets and the dissolution of local Baha’i institutions. Mr. bin Haydara remains on death row.

“USCIRF calls on Houthi authorities to annul the death sentence against Hamid bin Haydara, drop all charges against and cease targeting members of Yemen’s Baha’i community,” added Chair Dorjee.

In addition, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback last month called on the Houthis to drop all charges against Yemeni Baha’is and allow Yemenis of all beliefs to live in peace. And earlier this month, five United Nations experts called for the release of all those arrested and cessation of the persecution of Yemen’s Baha’i community.

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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 threats to 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] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.