WASHINGTON, DC – Andy Khawaja, Commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today announced his adoption of Hamid Kamal Mohammad bin Haydara, a Yemeni member of the Baha’i faith sentenced to death on charges that include attempting to convert Muslims, as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.

“I call on Houthi authorities to immediately release Hamid bin Haydara, to grant him access to medical care, and to end the persecution of Baha’i men and women in Yemen,” said Khawaja. “The Houthi disbandment of the Baha’i community in Yemen and detention of several Baha’i Yemenis on spurious charges is an intolerable attack on religious freedom.”

In 2013, authorities linked to the Houthi-run National Security Bureau arrested and detained Haydara initially without charges. Haydara virtually disappeared until September 2, 2014, when his wife, Ilham Zara’i, was finally permitted to visit him.

He was held in a prison in the middle of a conflict zone, with limited his access to adequate healthcare, until  January 8, 2015, when the official charges finally came. These included allegations of being a spy for Israel, attempting to make certain locations within Yemen a homeland for the followers of the Baha’i Faith, offering literacy classes that followed a curriculum deemed incompatible with Islam, and attempting to convert Muslims to the Baha’i Faith. After a 3-year delay in sentencing, on January 2, 2018, a judge condemned Haydara to death. He remains imprisoned and the Houthi Court of Appeals has scheduled the next hearing for Haydara on January 29, 2019.

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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
December 21, 2018

Open Letter from USCIRF Vice Chair Gayle Manchin to Mohammad Ali Taheri

Washington, D.C. –

Mohammad Ali Taheri,

I am writing to you in my capacity as the Vice Chair on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to inform you that I have taken on your case as a religious prisoner of conscience. The international religious freedom community has not forgotten you.

The Iranian authorities have consistently targeted you for exercising your basic human right to freedom of religion or belief. Their disregard for human rights and religious freedom can be seen in the “blasphemy” and other charges they brought against you for your expression of your spiritual beliefs. I am not the first to note Iran’s failure to live up to its international commitments to freedom of religion or belief, and, unfortunately, your case is not the only one that testifies to this fact. Nonetheless, I want you to know I stand with you in your pursuit of this basic freedom.

Back on March 3, 2018, I and others in the religious freedom community celebrated that your death sentenced had been overturned. Yet we viewed in dismay as your release was delayed yet again and you were handed an additional 5-year sentence. The Iranian authorities have held you far too long, they have taken enough.

Though relations between my country and yours remain fraught, I hope that my commitment to your cause demonstrates the hopes I and millions of my fellow Americans have for you and your country. It is our prayer that one day soon you will be given the justice you deserve and that all Iranians will live under a government that respects human rights including the freedom of religion or belief.

In closing, I want to only reemphasize that USCIRF and I will continue to advocate for your immediate release.

Sincerely,

Gayle Manchin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2018

USCIRF Welcomes Enactment of Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commends President Donald Trump’s signing of the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, bipartisan legislation that establishes consequences for Chinese government officials responsible for restricting access to Tibetan areas by United States journalists, diplomats, tourists, and citizens, including Tibetan Americans.

In its 2018 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the Congress pass this legislation. Chair Tenzin Dorjee urged passage on numerous occasions, including when testifying before Congress in September 2018 on religious freedom in China, as well as in testimony specifically about Tibet in February of this year and in July 2017.

“As a Tibetan American who has the desire and the right to visit Tibet, I commend President Trump for signing this important bill. The unanimous passage of this act by the Congress sends a strong message to China that it cannot keep Tibet—and the myriad human rights abuses its government commits there—hidden from the world. If Chinese officials want to freely visit the United States, they need to reciprocate access to Tibet, or else the concerned Chinese officials will face consequences. I strongly urge the President to implement this law to the full extent,” said Dorjee.  

“I also want to commend Representatives McGovern and Hultgren, co-chairs of the bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Senators Rubio and Baldwin, and all Members of Congress for supporting this legislation,” added Dorjee. “Their bipartisan leadership brings attention to the Chinese government’s religious freedom and related human rights violations against Tibetan Buddhists, ensuring that their abuses will no longer remain in the shadows.”

USCIRF has repeatedly recommended that the State Department designation China a “country of particular concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act for systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom, including against the Tibetan people. On November 28, the State Department again designated China as a CPC.

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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.