FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2018

CHINA: USCIRF Deeply Concerned About Increasing Repression of Uighur Muslims

“The Chinese government’s restrictions on Uighur Muslims are an attempt to assimilate a besieged religious and ethnic minority.”

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) denounces the Chinese government’s increasing crackdown on Uighur Muslims. The Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, where the majority of Uighurs reside, increasingly resembles a police state. The Chinese government’s pervasive policies and intrusive security controls deny Uighur Muslims’ basic civil liberties and human rights and interfere with the practice of their faith, including during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins May 15, 2018.

“The Chinese government’s restrictions on Uighur Muslims are an attempt to assimilate a besieged religious and ethnic minority,” said USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark. “By installing Communist Party cadres in Uighur homes and detaining countless innocent Uighurs in extrajudicial ‘re-education camps,’ the Chinese government has created a culture of fear, suspicion, and mistrust throughout Xinjiang. Indeed, the government’s actions are disrupting entire communities as they try to live their lives and practice their faith in peace.”

In addition to longstanding restrictions on Uighur Muslims’ religious practice during Ramadan—such as preventing Uighurs from fasting and praying—the Chinese government has instituted a multifaceted security grid throughout Xinjiang comprised of both personnel and advanced technology, including armed checkpoints, facial and iris recognition software, and cell phone monitoring. Moreover, the Chinese government seeks to stymie the growth of the next generation of Uighur Muslims by banning Uighur language instruction in schools, prohibiting children from attending mosque, and proscribing Islamic baby names considered “extreme.”

Uighur Muslims continue to receive unfair trials and are harshly treated in prison. In the last year, USCIRF Vice Chairwoman Sandra Jolley advocated on behalf of Uighur Muslim Gulmira Imin as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. In 2010, a Chinese court sentenced Ms. Imin to life in prison for her alleged role with organizing the July 2009 protests in Urumqi, an allegation she has denied.

Chairman Mark continued, “USCIRF commends the State Department for calling attention to China’s ill-treatment of Uighur Muslims and strongly encourages the entire U.S. government to sanction regional and national government officials and agencies involved in religious freedom violations. The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, the International Religious Freedom Act, and other targeted tools give our government the authority and ability to combat these violations, so we should employ these measures.”

In 2018, USCIRF recommends, and in 2017 the State Department designated, China as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. China has repeatedly been designated as a CPC since 1999.

For more information, see USCIRF’s 2018 Annual Report chapter on China.

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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 Isaac Six, Director of Congressional Affairs and Communications ([email protected] +1-202-786-0606).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2018

Turkey Postpones Hearing to July 18, Sends Pastor Andrew Brunson Back to Prison

“The judge’s decision at the conclusion of today’s hearing to dismiss all of the witnesses called by Pastor Brunson’s defense without listening to a single minute of their testimony is simply unconscionable,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Sandra Jolley

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was deeply disappointed today by a Turkish court decision to once again postpone proceedings in the case of Pastor Andrew Brunson, an American citizen and leader of a small Protestant Christian church who is facing up to 35 years imprisonment on false terrorism and espionage related charges. Vice Chair Sandra Jolley attended today’s hearing in Aliaga and witnessed the nearly eleven hours of proceedings. USCIRF has condemned the charges against Pastor Brunson and called for his immediate release.

“We leave the courthouse with serious concerns. Today’s eleven hours of proceedings were dominated by wild conspiracies, tortured logic, and secret witnesses, but no real evidence to speak of. Upon these rests a man’s life,” said Vice Chair Jolley. “Worse still, the judge’s decision at the conclusion of today’s hearing to dismiss all of the witnesses called by Pastor Brunson’s defense without listening to a single minute of their testimony is simply unconscionable.”

Pastor Brunson was initially detained by Turkish officials on October 7, 2016 and accused of membership in an armed terrorist organization. On March 13, Turkish prosecutors indicted Pastor Brunson on terrorism and espionage related charges, seeking a sentence of up to 35 years’ imprisonment. His first hearing took place on April 16. Pastor Brunson has lived and worked in Turkey for over 22 years.

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 expressed his concern regarding the ongoing detention of American citizens, including Pastor Brunson, in Turkey.   

“USCIRF believes firmly in the innocence of Pastor Brunson. We met with him in Kiriklar Prison last October. We have publicly advocated for his release and we are here today to stand with him and to call for his unconditional release,” said Vice Chair Jolley. “It is unthinkable that a friend and fellow NATO ally would jeopardize our vital and historic ties. The American public and the U.S. Congress are deeply disturbed by the events of the past 18 months. The truth is that this case is part of a larger decline in personal freedoms, including religious freedom and human rights, that we are witnessing in Turkey in recent years. We are looking to the Turkish judiciary to uphold Pastor Brunson’s innocence.”

On October 5, 2017, USCIRF Vice Chairs Sandra Jolley and Kristina Arriaga were granted access to Kiriklar Prison in Izmir 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.

In 2018, USCIRF placed Turkey on its Tier 2 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.

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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 Isaac Six, Director of Congressional Affairs and Communications ([email protected] +1-202-786-0606).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2018

Gayle Conelly Manchin Appointed to USCIRF 

WASHINGTON, DC – Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) on April 19, 2018 appointed Gayle Conelly Manchin to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

“USCIRF welcomes the appointment of Gayle Manchin to the Commission, and we look forward to the work she will do in the years ahead on the pressing challenges to religious freedom around the globe,” said USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark. “Given these challenges, it is critically important that Congress and the administration continue to make the necessary appointments to the Commission, thereby allowing us to continue to fulfill our mandate of advancing religious freedom through U.S. foreign policy.”

As an educator, Gayle Manchin worked in Marion County Schools at the secondary level, served on the faculty of Fairmont State University in Developmental Education and was the Director of the university’s first Community Service Learning Program.

From January 2005 until November 2010, Gayle served as West Virginia’s First Lady where she served as the official hostess of the Governor’s Mansion and an advocate for West Virginia children and families. In addition, she was appointed by the Governor to serve as a member of the State Board of Education, where she just completed her tenure as President. She is the Chair of the Board for Reconnecting McDowell, an American Federation of Teachers’ initiative serving rural West Virginia, is a past president of the Vandalia Rotary Club of Charleston, and as an Emeritus Member of The Education Alliance. She served for one year as the Cabinet Secretary for the Office of Education and the Arts.

From 2000-2004, she directed the AmeriCorps Promise Fellows in West Virginia and through the Secretary of Education and the Arts, implemented a statewide initiative, WV Partnerships to Assure Student Success. On the national level, Gayle Manchin is a Past-President of the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE).  She was appointed by Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan to the Federal Improvement for Post-Secondary Education Board in 2010.  Gayle Manchin is also a member of the Board of Trustees of The Ford Theatre in Washington, DC.

She has spoken both at a state and national level on challenges of rural education, poverty, and the responsibility and accountability of teachers, principals, students and parents in raising student achievement. Gayle Manchin attended West Virginia University, where she attained her Bachelor of Arts in Language Arts and Education and a Master of Arts in Reading, and a second master’s specialization in Educational Technology Leadership from Salem International University.

Comprised of nine commissioners, USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan federal body that is principally responsible for reviewing the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and making policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress. The President and leadership of both political parties in the Senate and House of Representatives appoint USCIRF Commissioners.  

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To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Isaac Six, Associate Director of Congressional Affairs ([email protected] +1-202-786-0606).