FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2018

USCIRF Condemns Detentions of Iranian House Church Pastor and Congregants

Chair Dorjee said, “Pastor Nadarkhani and his fellow church members should be immediately and unconditionally released and be permitted by the Iranian government to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of religion or belief”

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is deeply concerned by reports of the violent detentions of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian Christian convert and house church leader of the Church of Iran, and three members of his congregation.

According to reports, Iranian authorities broke into Nadarkhani’s home the morning of July 22nd, violently arresting him and physically assaulting his son. While Nadarkhani has yet to receive an official summons to prison, he has been transferred to the notorious Evin Prison. Two days later, three other members of his denomination-- Saheb Fadaie, Mohammedreza Omidi, and Yasser Mossayebzadeh— were similarly arrested without a summons.

In June 2017, Pastor Nadarkhani was sentenced to 10 years in prison and two years of exile on baseless charges including “collusion against national security” and promoting “Zionist Christianity.” The three other Christian converts were given similarly long sentences for their religious activities. Pastor Nadarkhani and his colleagues appealed their sentences in December 2017 and received rejections of their appeals in May 2018. Since then, the group has been awaiting a summons to begin their prison terms.

“We at USCIRF express our strong concern about the reports of Pastor Nadarkhani and his congregants’ arrest,” stated USCIRF chair Tenzin Dorjee. “Pastor Nadarkhani and his fellow church members should be immediately and unconditionally released and be permitted by the Iranian government to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of religion or belief. We condemn both their lengthy prison sentences and this new miscarriage of justice.”

The Iranian government has previously targeted Pastor Nadarkhani for his religious beliefs, sentencing him to death for apostasy in 2010. Following an international outcry from human rights bodies around the world, including USCIRF, Nadarkhani was acquitted of apostasy. He served a three-year prison sentence for evangelizing instead.

Since 1999, the State Department has designated Iran as a “country of particular concern” for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. For more information, see USCIRF’s 2018 Annual Report chapter on Iran. For more information on USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project, click here.

###

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission. USCIRF’s mission is to elevate and promote international religious freedom as a norm and practice. 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 Javier Peña at [email protected] or +1-202-674-2598.

This op-ed originally appeared in The Hill on July 27, 2018.

By former USCIRF Commissioners Tenzin Dorjee and Kristina Arriaga

To the surprise of many, there is a foreign policy issue on which the White House and  Democrats and Republicans in Congress have agreed for over two decades: the global promotion and protection of religious freedom, defined as the fundamental human right to believe in and be guided by any faith, or none.

As articulated in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and codified in the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), freedom of religion or belief means the rights of citizens are not dependent on their religious identity, practices or beliefs. This “first freedom” is the basis for many other rights, like the freedoms of speech, expression and association. In many countries where religious freedom is denied, not only are those countries’ inhabitants at risk, their national security and stability is undermined. Relatedly, freedom of religion or belief is crucial to America’s national security.

Republicans and Democrats alike recognize that where freedom of religion or belief is restricted, poverty and violence begin. It is in the countries that deprive their citizens of freedom of conscience that human trafficking and forced labor flourish. And it is in these countries that the roots of terrorism are sown.

The Trump administration seems to be especially cognizant of these threats to human dignity and regional and global security and stability. This week, the Department of State hosted the first Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, which drew hundreds of those involved in the global fight to defend religious freedom. Representatives of governments, international organizations, religious communities, civil society and others shared information, built awareness, debated policies and collaborated on solutions for people worldwide who are oppressed and persecuted because of their beliefs.

Religious freedom violations — ranging from discrimination to forced conversions to mass atrocities — are increasing in countries with authoritarian regimes that are aligned with their countries’ majority religions, or fearful of the influence of moral principles or alternative expressions they can’t control.

Among the 16 countries that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) considers “Countries of Particular Concern (CPC),” Pakistan is an example of the former; the government both actively persecutes religious minorities and turns a blind eye to discrimination and violence perpetrated against them by others. Examples of the latter include Vietnam, where communism is the only respected ideology or “belief.”

USCIRF has recommended to the State Department that these two countries (plus the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Russia and Syria) be designated as CPCs, which, under IRFA, would require the administration to take actions such as imposing Global Magnitsky sanctions, economic sanctions or travel limitations, to encourage improvements in freedom of religion or belief.

Tools the United States and other like-minded countries can use to promote and defend religious freedom were chief among the topics raised at the ministerial.

Another issue discussed is the link between violations of religious freedom and women's rights. Along with increased rates of sex trafficking, child and forced marriages, and gender-based violence in countries that deprive their citizens of freedom of conscience, there is little room for human rights defenders to mobilize to advocate for women’s rights.

In addition to addressing the countries that violate religious freedom, ministerial attendees sought solutions to the egregious religious freedom violations being committed by “Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs)." USCIRF has identified as EPCs and called for action against three of the most violent such groups: ISIS, which has committed genocide against Yazidis, Christians, and Shi’a Muslims in Iraq; the Taliban, whose extremist interpretations of Sharia law have led to honor killings and denials of women’s right to education and other basic rights in Afghanistan; and the al Qaeda-aligned al-Shabaab that that has killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, in Somalia.

Countries and organizations that suppress religious freedom threaten American and global security. Everyone should be encouraged by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s initiative to hold this ministerial. Protecting this fundamental right is not just a means of demonstrating our country’s bipartisan commitment to human dignity and global peace and stability, it’s in our national security interest.

Tenzin Dorjee serves as chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Kristina Arriaga serves as vice chair of USCIRF.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 25, 2018

Pastor Andrew Brunson Placed Under House Arrest

“It is good that Pastor Brunson will have some relief after being held in a Turkish prison for more than 600 days. But it is not enough,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today welcomed a Turkish court’s decision to place Pastor Andrew Brunson under house arrest. Pastor Brunson is an American citizen and leader of a small Protestant Christian church in Turkey who has been unjustly detained since October 7, 2016 on false charges. USCIRF Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga attended his third hearing in Aliaga, Turkey, on July 18, 2018. USCIRF has condemned the charges against Pastor Brunson and has called for his immediate release.

“This is welcome news,” said Vice Chair Arriaga. “It is good that Pastor Brunson will have some relief after being held in a Turkish prison for more than 600 days. But it is not enough. The Turkish government has deprived this innocent man of his due process rights and liberty for too long, and it must completely release him. If it fails to do so, the Trump Administration and the Congress should respond strongly and swiftly with targeted sanctions against the authorities responsible.”

High-level U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, have called for Pastor Brunson’s release. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently spoke about the ongoing detention of American citizens, including Pastor Brunson, in Turkey.  

On October 5, 2017, USCIRF Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga and then USCIRF Vice Chair Sandra Jolley were granted access to Kiriklar Prison in Izmir, Turkey and allowed to visit with Pastor Brunson. They were his first visitors outside of family, legal counsel, and U.S. embassy officials. They described their visit in an opinion editorial for Religion News Service, which can be found here. Vice Chair Arriaga described what she saw at the July 18 hearing in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal which can be found here.

In 2018, USCIRF placed Turkey on its Tier 2 list of countries noted for violations of religious freedom and began advocating for Pastor Brunson as a part of its Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.

For more information, see USCIRF’s 2018 annual report chapter on Turkey.

###

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 Javier Peña at [email protected] +1-202-786-0633).