Extra Bio Info:

Muhsinjon Ahmedov is detained for his religious activity. 

On October 20, 2023, French authorities again detained Ahmedov, this time keeping him in a deportation center before eventually deporting him. While in the center, prison guards reportedly choked him with a cloth.

On November 14, 2023, France denied Ahmedov asylum and deported him to Uzbekistan under an expedited process based on extremism charges from Uzbek authorities for his peaceful religious activities. If found guilty, Ahmedov could face up to 20 years in prison.

On December 7, 2023, France's top administrative court ruled that the deportation was illegal and that Ahmedov should receive state compensation and be returned to France. 

In 2015, Ahmedov fled Uzbekistan after facing false extremism charges following an unlawful detainment that included torture. In 2019, Ahmedov settled in France, where, in 2020, he helped rescue an elderly man and received a medal from the local mayor for his heroism. Despite advocacy from community members in France, French authorities put Ahmedov on a list of individuals that threaten national security, kept him under surveillance, and detained him for three months. 

Extra Bio Info:

Nay Y Blang is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity. 

On May 18, 2023, Vietnamese authorities arrested Blang on accusations including “abusing democratic freedoms” (Art. 331/2015 VCC) for his affiliation with the unrecognized and unregistered Central Highlands Evangelical Church of Christ and holding in-home religious meetings for fellow members. 

On January 26, 2024, the People's Court of Phu Yen province sentenced Blang to four years and six months in prison. 

Blang was previously imprisoned for his peaceful religious activity. In 2005, Blang was sentenced to five years and six months in prison for "undermining the unity policy." Upon his release from prison in 2010, authorities sent Blang to an "educational facility" for 24 months for “abusing the rights to democratic freedom and freedom of belief to entice and incite others to violate the law, interests of the State, legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals.” 

Extra Bio Info:

Nizomiddin Nasriddinov is imprisoned for his online engagement with religiously based political parties. 

On January 8, 2023, Belarusian authorities arrested Nasriddinov as he entered the country at the request of Tajik officials.

On July 24, Belarus extradited Nasriddinov to Tajikistan, where he was placed in pre-trial detention.

In 2017, Tajikistan placed Nasriddinov, who holds refugee status and lives in Germany, on a global wanted list for his online engagement with the banned religiously affiliated political party Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan and other banned political opposition groups, accusing him of committing "public calls for extremist activities." 

On October 5, 2023, the Ismoili Somoni district court sentenced Nasriddinov to eight and a half years in prison on charges of "public calls to violent change of the constitutional order of Tajikistan" (Art. 307 TCC).