U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing
Religious Freedom in Afghanistan: One Year Since the Taliban Takeover
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM ET
Virtual Hearing
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) held a virtual hearing that examined Afghanistan’s freedom of religion or belief under the Taliban’s rule since its takeover of the country in August 2021. The hearing also highlighted opportunities for U.S. policy to support vulnerable Afghans.
The Taliban’s imposition of their narrow interpretation of Sunni Islam on all of society poses a grave threat to Afghans who interpret Islam differently, who hold a different faith, or who choose to have no faith at all. In addition, despite continued promises to protect all ethnic and religious communities residing in Afghanistan, the Taliban de facto government has been unable to protect religious minorities against attacks from Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K). While some religious minority communities face the threat of extinction, others struggle to practice their faith in hiding due to fear of reprisal.
Witnesses documented religious freedom conditions throughout the country under Taliban rule, discussed current U.S. policy, and shared recommendations for the U.S. government to support religious freedom in Afghanistan.
Panel
This hearing is open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the public, and the media. Members of the media should register online and can email [email protected] for any questions or to schedule an interview. The video recording of the hearing will be posted on the Commission website. For any additional questions, please contact Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected] or (202) 702-2778.
Additional Name(s): سلمى الشهاب, Salma bint Sami bin Abdulmohsen al-Shehab
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: Saudi Arabia
Ethnic Group: Arab
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Shi'a
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Appeal: Resentenced to 27 Years' Imprisonment (Originally Increased to 34 Years' Imprisonment)
Sentence: Originally 6 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: January/15/2021
Date of Sentencing: January/25/2023
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Criticizing Religious Freedom Conditions Online Activity Religious Identity Resisting State-Imposed Religious Systems Women’s Rights
Nature of Charges: Aid & Abetment Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials Terrorism
Salma al-Shehab is imprisoned for her women's rights activism opposing state-imposed religious systems as well as her religious identity.
On January 15, 2021, authorities arrested al-Shehab, a Shi'a Muslim and a PhD student at Leeds University in the United Kingdom, while she was on vacation in Saudi Arabia. Al-Shehab was targeted for her social media activity supporting women's rights and expressing solidarity with women's rights activists, like Loujain al-Hathloul, who were arrested for opposing the religiously grounded guardianship system. Al-Shehab was reportedly accused of "providing succour to those seeking to disrupt public order and undermine the safety of the general public and stability of the state, and publishing false and tendentious rumours on Twitter."
On an unspecified day in 2021, the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) sentenced al-Shehab to six years in prison.
On or around August 9, 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court of Appeal resentenced al-Shehab to 34 years in prison, followed by a 34-year travel ban, for supporting and promoting terrorism (Art. 34 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), aiding and abetting terrorists or a terrorist entity (Art. 38 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), using the internet or electronic devices to conduct terrorist activities (Art. 43 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), spreading false rumors or information with the intent to commit terrorism (Art. 44 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), sending items that would prejudice public order (Art. 6 Law on Combatting Cyber Crimes), and other crimes. Al-Shehab's religious identity as a Shi'a Muslim is believed to have been a factor in her arrest and harsh sentencing.
On January 18, 2023, the Supreme Court reportedly threw out al-Shehab's sentence and ordered a retrial.
On January 25, 2023, the SCC reportedly resentenced al-Shehab to 27 years in prison after dropping her prior charge under the Combatting Cyber Crimes Law.
On March 23, 2023, al-Shehab went on hunger strike in protest over her detention and trial.
In June 2023, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared al-Shehab's detention arbitrary and called for her immediate release.
Al-Shehab has reportedly been subjected to solitary confinement and verbal abuse on the basis of her religion while in prison. She has also been denied access to a lawyer and family visits.
Al-Shehab is the mother of two small children.
Photo used with permission from MENA Rights Group
USCIRF Commissioners Stephen Schneck and Abraham Cooper, Tweet, July 11, 2023
"Opinion No. 27/2023 concerning Salma bint Sami bin Abdulmohsen al-Shehab and Nourah bin Saeed al-Qahtani (Saudi Arabia)" UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
"UN report calls on Saudi Arabia to release 2 women jailed over tweets, alleging rights abuses" Associated Press (AP)
Prisoners of Conscience, Tweet, March 28, 2023
ALQST for Human Rights, Tweet, March 28, 2023
USCIRF Commissioners Stephen Schneck and Abraham Cooper, Tweet, March 9, 2023
ALQST for Human Rights, Tweet, March 7, 2023
USCIRF Country Update: Religious Freedom Conditions in Saudi Arabia December 2022
"Saudi Arabia: Woman Sentenced to 34 Years for Tweets" Human Rights Watch
"Female Saudi activist gets record 34 years in prison for critical tweets" Washington Post
"Saudi woman jailed for Twitter use alleges abuse during detention" The Guardian
"Press Release – New Court Documents Show Saudi Rights Activist Sentenced to 34 Years in Jail Faced Abuse, Threats and Sectarian Harassment in Detention" Freedom Initiative
"Saudi doctoral student gets 34 years in prison for tweets" Associated Press (AP)
USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck, Tweet, August 18, 2022
"Saudi woman given 34-year prison sentence for using Twitter" The Guardian
"34 years jail for women’s rights activist Salma al-Shehab, who used Twitter to call for reforms" ALQST
"Press Release – Saudi Women’s Rights Activist and Mother of Two Sentenced to 34-years in Jail" Freedom Initiative
Additional Name(s): محمد گلباز
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Christian – Unspecified/Other
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: July/30/2022
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Practicing Religion as a Convert Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Mohammad Golbaz is detained for practicing his religion as a convert.
On July 30, 2022, authorities arrested Golbaz at his motorcycle repair shop reportedly after raiding his parents' home and confiscating a religious picture.
Photo attributed to Article 18
"Christian convert arrested, detained in Karaj on unknown charges" Article 18
"بازداشت محمد گلباز، نوکیش مسیحی در کرج" Article 18