FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2004

Contact:
Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - "The Commission believes that Saudi Arabia should be designated a ‘country of particular concern' (CPC) for its continued systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief," said USCIRF Chair Michael K. Young. "While the State Department's 2003 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom again notes that freedom of religion "does not exist" in Saudi Arabia, the country still has not been designated a CPC."

In addition to recommending that Saudi Arabia be designated a CPC, the Commission has recommended that the U.S. government should press for immediate improvements in respect for religious freedom, including: establishing genuine safeguards for the freedom to worship privately; ending state prosecution of apostasy, blasphemy, and criticizing the government; and ceasing messages of hatred, intolerance, or incitement to violence against non-Wahhabi Muslims and members of non-Muslim religious groups in the educational curricula and textbooks, as well as in government-controlled mosques and media.

In a report released yesterday by an independent task force on terrorist financing of the Council on Foreign Relations, it endorsed another Commission recommendation that the U.S. government should more frequently identify serious human rights violations and publicly acknowledge that they are significant issues in the bilateral relationship. The task force report states "when domestic Saudi problems threaten Americans at home and abroad, a new framework for U.S.-Saudi relations must be struck, one that includes focused and consistent U.S. attention on domestic Saudi issues that previously would have been "off the table..." Consistent U.S. demands for human rights and political and economic freedom...may only have or have had a marginal impact on the course of events, but they are a fundamental expression of U.S. interests and values."

Over the past year, several incidents continue to point to the Saudi government's systematic violations of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief. In September 2003, the mutawaa (religious police) arrested 16 foreign workers for practicing Sufism; their status is unknown. In October 2003, two Egyptian Christians were arrested and jailed on religious grounds and released three weeks later. Also in October, several Protestant foreign workers were arrested by the civil police and released the same day without charge. In December 2003, a foreign worker was arrested and charged with apostasy, a charge that was later reduced to blasphemy resulting in a sentence of two years in jail and 600 lashes. In March 2004, an Indian Christian foreign worker was arrested and tortured for "preaching Christianity," among other charges. He remains in prison.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 18, 2004

Contact:

Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) will receive the Judge George Alexander Teitz Award from the Touro Synagogue Foundation, a non-denominational, non-sectarian, non-profit institution. The award is given annually to "an individual or program that best exemplifies the ideals of religious, ethnic, and racial tolerance and freedom, as set forth in President George Washington's Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island in 1790." This year's award is being given in recognition of USCIRF's work to promote religious freedom and to combat religious intolerance throughout the world. Commission Chair Preeta D. Bansal and Vice Chair Felice D. Gaer will receive the award at the Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI, on August 22 on behalf of the Commission. The award presentation will be followed by the Annual Washington Letter Reading, at which United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be the keynote speaker.

Text of press release issued by the Touro Synagogue Foundation on the award:

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom to Receive Teitz Award from Touro Synagogue Foundation

Newport, RI, August 17, 2004 - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is to receive the Judge George Alexander Teitz Award during the Touro Synagogue Foundation's George Washington Letter Weekend. The award will be presented at the Sharing our History Brunch on Sunday August 22, 2004 at the Hotel Viking.

The Teitz Award annually honors an individual or organization for commitment to religious freedom and tolerance, the twin hallmarks of President Washington's letter to "the Hebrew Congregation in Newport," which Washington gave to the congregation on August 21, 1790. Last year's award recipient was The Program on Intrastate Conflict, Conflict Prevention, and Conflict Resolution, a joint program of the World Peace Foundation and the Belfer Center, Kennedy School of Government, at Harvard University.

This year's Teitz Award will recognize the worldwide nonpartisan commitment to religious freedom and tolerance of the Commission on International Religious Freedom, as demonstrated by its actions and accomplishments, including:

Making findings, recommendations, and speaking out to promote the internationally enshrined rights of freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief,

Actively working in Afghanistan and Iraq to ensure that their newly formed governments protect religious freedom and institutionalize it in new constitutions,

Speaking out repeatedly on the complete lack of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, and its export of religious hatred and intolerance,

Pressing the Chinese government to end its current crackdown on religious and spiritual groups,

Holding hearings and roundtables to highlight critical religious freedom concerns, and

Working to expand the definition of religious freedom from a narrow right of group worship, to a guarantee to every person of the individual freedoms of religious belief and practice without fear of oppression or punishment, so that in the words of George Washington, "every one shall sit in safety under his vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid."

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) to monitor the status of religious freedom abroad as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress. By publicly providing reliable information, analysis, and creative and responsible policy recommendations, the Commission gives the U.S. government and the American people the tools necessary to advance religious freedom and related human rights throughout the world. In the words of a key drafter of IRFA, the Commission was established for the purpose of ensuring "that the President and the Congress receive independent recommendations and, where necessary, criticism of American policy that does not promote international religious freedom." The bipartisan Commission, which began its work in May 1999, is an independent federal agency, separate from the State Department. The Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom serves ex officio as a non-voting member. Accepting the Award on behalf of the Commission will be its Chair, Preeta D. Bansal, and its Vice Chair, Felice D. Gaer.

In his famous letter "To the Hebrew Congregation In Newport" written in response to a query from Touro Synagogue Warden Moses Seixas, President George Washington affirmed the founding fathers' commitment to the principles of religious freedom by pledging that the new American nation..."gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance..." Nearly two years before the passage of the Bill of Rights, President Washington's letter set the standard for religious freedom in the United States.

Touro Synagogue, dedicated in 1763, is the oldest synagogue building in the United States. Designed by noted colonial architect Peter Harrison, Touro Synagogue is considered one of the finest examples of 18th century American architecture. Touro Synagogue: A National Historic Site, operates public programs in partnership with the National Park Service, The National Trust for Historic Preservation and is a project of Save America's Treasures.

Touro Synagogue is located in downtown Newport, RI at 85 Touro St. The Sharing our History Brunch is part of a three-day weekend of events celebrating the George Washington Letter and 350 years of American Jewish Life. For more information about registration for the weekend, contact Marla Dansky, Education Director, The Society of Friends of Touro Synagogue at 401-847-4794 x14.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

Preeta D. Bansal, Chair • Felice D. Gaer, Vice Chair • Nina Shea, Vice Chair • Patti Chang • Archbishop Charles J. Chaput • Khaled Abou El Fadl • Richard Land • Bishop Ricardo Ramirez • Michael K. Young • Ambassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio • Joseph R. Crapa, Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 16, 2004

Contact:

Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is concerned about the increasing influence of authoritarian and chauvinistic strains within the Russian government that appear to be directly related to growing religious freedom problems. On June 16, a Moscow court upheld a ban on all activities of the 11,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in that city. In May, a committee in the Russian parliament took up an amendment to the "Law on Traditional Religions" that would grant wide-ranging privileges to the Russian Orthodox Church and three other religious groups deemed "traditional" to Russia-Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam-but not to other religious communities.

"Russian authorities are adopting an increasingly restrictive policy towards freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, casting doubt on the Russian government's continued commitment to democratic reform and the protection of religious freedom and contributing to a growing climate of intolerance for religious minorities and those who work to protect their rights," said USCIRF Chair Preeta D. Bansal. "The U.S. government should make clear to Russian authorities its concern over the growing authoritarian trends in Russia and to step up its efforts to support and work with the many elements in Russian society who oppose such developments."

Jehovah's Witnesses have legal registration on the national level in Russia. The June 16 decision marks a sharp turn away from previous Russian court decisions that have mitigated some of the harsher aspects of Russia's 1997 law on religion, particularly with respect to registration. The decision also calls into question Russia's international obligations, including the European Convention on Human Rights and OSCE commitments on religious freedom and non-discrimination on religious grounds, and comes despite Russian Constitutional references to the primacy of international law. The prosecution successfully called upon the court to reject as irrelevant decisions by the European Court.

Other recent developments in Russia contribute to concerns about the influence of authoritarian strains within the Russian government and growing societal intolerance. In June, three people who organized or took part in an art exhibit at Moscow's Sakharov Foundation that was critical of the political and commercial role of the Russian Orthodox Church were criminally charged with "inciting religious hatred." Also in June, Nikolai Girenko, a noted Russian activist against racism and religious extremism, was murdered on his doorstep in St. Petersburg. A Russian extremist nationalist group claimed responsibility, saying it had "sentenced" Girenko to death for combating religious, ethnic and sexual-orientation-based intolerance.

"These developments raise the specter of a rollback to Soviet-style control in which dissent is quashed by the Russian Orthodox Church using the machinery of the state. The Russian authorities should live up to their obligations under international law with regard to freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief and make greater efforts to counter these authoritarian and intolerant strains," said Bansal.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

Preeta D. Bansal, Chair • Felice D. Gaer, Vice Chair • Nina Shea, Vice Chair • Patti Chang • Archbishop Charles J. Chaput • Khaled Abou El Fadl • Richard Land • Bishop Ricardo Ramirez • Michael K. Young • Ambassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio • Joseph R. Crapa, Executive Director