USCIRF Condemns Egypt’s Deportation of Uighur Muslims to China

“These latest moves show a calculated indifference to the Uighur Muslim community”

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the irresponsible and hostile actions taken against Uighur Muslims in Egypt. The government of Egypt continues a campaign of rounding up and deporting these individuals back to China, a country with a record of harsh repression of the Uighur community. Egypt began this campaign of arrests and deportations in early July and they continue today.

USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark stated that, “In USCIRF’s 2017 Annual Report, we did not recommend Egypt be designated as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) – designating them, instead, as Tier 2 -- because we had seen some good faith efforts by the government toward religious minorities, particularly Coptic Christians. But these latest moves show a calculated indifference to the Uighur Muslim community. These forced deportations cast the government’s efforts in an unfavorable light.”

Amid a growing domestic crackdown on Uighur Muslims, as USCIRF outlined in its July 5 press release, China is reaching outside its territories for them as well.  These repressive moves continue now as far away as Egypt and Italy. Reports indicate that the Egyptian government’s actions were taken in response to Chinese government requests and that Chinese security personnel have been present at some arrests. Civil society reports indicate that as many as 200 Uighurs have been arrested in Egypt with some already forcibly deported to China. Similar arrests and forced repatriations of Uighurs have occurred in the past in other countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia. In the past week, Reuters reported that Italian authorities detained a prominent Uighur, allegedly at the request of Chinese authorities.

USCIRF Vice Chair Sandra Jolley, who traveled to Egypt with USCIRF in early 2017, said, “The Egyptian government should be put on notice that the world is watching. I am an advocate for Gulmira Imin, a Uighur Muslim in China sentenced to life in prison because she was a peaceful Uighur activist. We have seen what China does to Uighurs. No one should have any illusions about the fate of those forcibly returned to China. They, and quite possibly their families and loved ones, will be subject to harassment, arbitrary arrest, and even torture or death.”

When asked what the next steps should be, USCIRF Chairman Mark said, “We call on the Egyptian government to cease detentions of Uighur Muslims and deportations to China, and we call on the Chinese government to end the persecution of Uighurs, including releasing all innocent Uighurs and allowing them to live in peace under their internationally protected rights.”
 

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).

VIETNAM: Religious Prisoner of Conscience Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh Released

USCIRF Urges the United States to Continue Raising Religious Freedom with Vietnam

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed relief that the Vietnamese government has released religious prisoner of conscience Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh and allowed him, his wife Tran Thi Hong, and their five children to leave the country. Pastor Chinh was sentenced in 2012 to 11 years’ imprisonment and endured solitary confinement and torture in prison. The family has arrived in the United States after the U.S. government granted Pastor Chinh humanitarian parole.

“The Vietnamese government finally has done the right thing by releasing Pastor Chinh from prison.  We welcome his admission, along with his family, to the United States.  The reality is that he should not have been imprisoned in the first place for simply practicing his faith,” said USCIRF Commissioner Jackie Wolcott, who has advocated on behalf of the pastor. “Pastor Chinh was falsely charged and imprisoned and treated cruelly, as are countless other religious believers and human rights activists who continue to be harassed, detained, and tortured in Vietnam.”  

Commissioner Wolcott took up the case of Pastor Chinh and his wife as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. Through this project, Commissioners work for the release of individuals who have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs, practices, advocacy, or identity and the laws and practices that led to their imprisonment.

USCIRF commends the brave efforts of Pastor Chinh’s wife, Tran Thi Hong, who worked tirelessly on behalf of her husband. Vietnamese authorities frequently harassed and surveilled Mrs. Hong, including beating her for meeting with then U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein about her husband’s case.

USCIRF has recommended since 2002 that the State Department designate Vietnam as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. Through law, policy, and practice, the Vietnamese government perpetrates or tolerates serious religious freedom abuses, particularly against unregistered religious organizations and in rural areas of some provinces.

“Although USCIRF recommends Vietnam be designated a CPC, we also recognize that the government has demonstrated a willingness to engage on freedom of religion or belief,” said USCIRF Chairman Dr. Daniel Mark, who has traveled to Vietnam on behalf of USCIRF. “The United States must continue to ensure that religious freedom is pursued both privately and publicly at every level of the bilateral relationship so that Vietnam takes positive and lasting steps toward freedom of religion or belief, including releasing religious prisoners of conscience.”

For more information, please see USCIRF’s chapter on Vietnam from its 2017 Annual Report (in English and Vietnamese) or USCIRF’s report, Religious Freedom in Vietnam: Assessing the Country of Particular Concern Designation 10 Years After its Removal (in English and Vietnamese).

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).

USCIRF Praises Nomination of a New Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom

USCIRF Commends the White House for Action to Promote the Freedom of Religion or Belief

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the White House nomination of Governor Sam Brownback of Kansas as the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. As a Senator from 1996-2011, he was at the forefront of international religious freedom issues.

USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark stated that, “The Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom is a vital post and Gov. Brownback is an outstanding choice for it. The person who fills this position will be America’s primary voice for the freedom of religion abroad and Gov. Brownback has impressive qualifications in this area. The Ambassador-at-Large also plays a key role in USCIRF’s work as an ex officio member of the Commission, so we look forward to working with him.”

While in the Senate, Gov. Brownback consistently supported religious freedom and human rights for all, serving as co-chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.  His record included: legislation condemning Iran for its treatment of Baha’is; sanctions on Vietnam for human rights abuses; legislation to protect religious communities in Russia; and actions providing for humane treatment of immigrant detainees. In addition, he was a key sponsor of the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act that established USCIRF and the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom.

In May 2000, then Sen. Brownback chaired a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to review the first USCIRF annual report. He described an atmosphere that was more open to a public discussion of religious freedom. He added that he hoped it was not a “cyclical thing, but rather something…on a trajectory toward growth, that we recognize this most fundamental of human rights.”

“We are very pleased that President Trump has made this selection,” added Chairman Mark. “Gov. Brownback understands that religious freedom violations must be sharply highlighted and that progress must be clearly recognized, precisely what USCIRF aims to do in its work. We hope that the Senate confirms his nomination swiftly.”

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).