Additional Name(s): Francisco Odorico Castilblanco Castro

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Nicaragua

Religion or Belief: Christian – Catholic

Date of Detainment: January/2/2024

Current Status: Not Released

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief

Nature of Charges: Unknown

Francisco Odorico Castilblanco

Extra Bio Info:

Francisco Odorico Castilblanco is detained for his religious belief and religious activity.

On January 2, 2024, the Nicaraguan authorities arrested Castilblanco, a seminarian from the Diocese of Jinotega. His arrest comes amid a crackdown on the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Nicaragua

Religion or Belief: Christian – Catholic

Date of Detainment: December/29/2023

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role

Nature of Charges: Unknown

Ervin López

Extra Bio Info:

Ervin López is detained for his religious leadership role.

On or around December 29, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested López, a priest from the Diocese of León. His arrest comes amid a crackdown on the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.

Related Cases: Silvio FonsecaHéctor TreminioCarlos AvilésFernando CaleroMarcos Díaz PradoMykel MonterreyRaúl ZamoraGerardo RodríguezJader HernándezMiguel Mántica

Jan 25

WHEN:

Jan 25th 3:30pm

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing

Religious Freedom in Southeast Asia: Techno-Authoritarianism and Transnational Influences

Thursday, January 25, 2024
3:30 -5:00 PM ET
Virtual

Hearing Transcript

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) hosted a virtual hearing on how Southeast Asian countries use techno-authoritarianism to undermine religious freedom and are increasingly borrowing such tactics from China and Saudi Arabia.

Despite growing civil society activism and economic development in recent decades, religious freedom conditions throughout Southeast Asia continue to stagnate or, in many places, decline. With the rise of technology and digital surveillance, alongside other transnational influences from outside the region, religious freedom is under increasing threat. The Burmese military disseminates hate speech and calls for widespread violence through social media to perpetrate atrocities against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya. In Indonesia, blasphemy charges increasingly cite social media as the source of the offending incident. Across Southeast Asia as a whole, transnational influences from outside the region threaten to change the political and legal landscape with major consequences for religious freedom and related human rights.

The first panel discussed trends in technology and digital surveillance throughout Southeast Asia impacting religious freedom. The second panel discussed transnational influences from outside of Southeast Asia, such as China and Saudi Arabia, that seek to fundamentally alter the religious freedom landscape.


Opening Remarks

Panel I

  • Kirril Shields, Program Manager, Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
    Written Testimony
  • Michelle Lee, Graduate Researcher, Columbia University
    Written Testimony

Panel II

  • Rana S. Inboden, Senior Fellow with the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law, University of Texas at Austin
    Written Testimony
  • James Chin, Professor of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania
    Written Testimony
  • Andrew Khoo, Co-Chair, Constitutional Law Committee, Bar Council Malaysia
    Written Testimony



Submitted for the Record

Statement from The Sikh Coalition

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 [email protected].