Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Malaysia
Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant
Date of Detainment: February/13/2017
Current Status: Unknown
Religious Leader: Yes
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Disappeared
Reason for Persecution: Humanitarian Work & Charitable Activities Religious Activity Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role
Nature of Charges: Not Applicable
Raymond Koh was forcibly disappeared for his religious activity.
On February 13, 2017, fifteen Royal Malaysian Police officers in three black SUVs surrounded Koh's vehicle and abducted him. Koh was a Christian pastor and the leader of a humanitarian NGO which focused on helping people living with HIV/AIDs, people recovering from substance abuse disorder, and single mothers and children. Prior to his arrest, local Islamic authorities investigated his NGO over allegations that it was being used to convert Muslims to Christianity.
On April 3, 2019, after an 18-month investigation, the national Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) announced that Koh was a victim of forced disappearance, noting that the Special Branch, an intelligence unit affiliated with the Malaysian police force, targeted Koh specifically for his religious activities. On June 26, 2019, the government established a task force to investigate the whereabouts of Koh and other disappeared persons. In February 2020, Koh's wife filed a lawsuit against the government to make public the task force's report.
In October 2024, Malaysian government officials released the task force report denying that Koh had been officially sanctioned or forcibly disappeared, but blamed his abduction on rogue police officers. On November 5, 2025, the High Court ruled in favor of Pastor Raymond Koh's family, finding the Malaysian government and police were liable for his abduction and enforced disappearance in 2017. The court ordered the government to pay a substantial sum in damages—RM10,000 per day from the date of the abduction until his whereabouts are revealed.
Additional Name(s): Adiljan Tuniyaz, ئادىل تۇنىياز, 阿地里江·吐尼亚孜
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: China
Ethnic Group: Uyghur
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: December/25/2017
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Ethnoreligious Identity Translating Religious Texts
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Adil Tuniyaz is detained for translating religious texts and for his ethnoreligious identity.
On or around December 25, 2017, authorities in Urumqi municipality, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), detained Tuniyaz, a writer and poet, and his wife Nezire Muhemmet Salih reportedly in relation to their translation of religious texts. Authorities had accused them of “promoting terrorism and religious extremism." Tuniyaz's arrest came amid a campaign of arbitrary mass detentions of Uyghurs and other largely Muslim ethnic minority groups.
Tuniyaz is married with four children. His son Imran was also detained.
Related Cases: Nezire Muhemmet Salih, Imran Adil
Photo attributed to Xinjiang Victims Database
"Adil Tuniyaz" Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)
"Adiljan Tuniyaz" Xinjiang Victims Database
USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel, Tweet, December 14, 2021
USCIRF Press Release: USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel Adopts Uyghur Religious Prisoner of Conscience May 12, 2021
“Xinjiang Authorities Detain Almost Every Family Member of Late Uyghur Muslim Scholar” Radio Free Asia (RFA)
Gender: Male
Current Location: Central Prison, Sukkur
Perpetrator: Pakistan
Religion or Belief: Hindu
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Sentence: Life Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: September/15/2019
Date of Sentencing: February/7/2022
Date of Release: March//2024
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Figures)
Nature of Charges: Blasphemy
Notan Lal was imprisoned for blasphemy.
On September 15, 2019, authorities arrested Lal, the owner and principal of a private school in Ghotki, after a student accused him of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during an Urdu lesson. Lal was charged with "insulting the Prophet Muhammad" (Sec. 295-C). The accusation against Lal prompted protests and riots in Ghotki, where a Hindu temple was vandalized and Lal's school was damaged.
On February 7, 2022, Lal was sentenced to life in prison and fined 50,000 rupees.
In March 2024, the Sindh High Court set aside Lal's conviction and released him from prison.
Lal is married with four children.
"SHC sets aside conviction of school owner in blasphemy case" The News
USCIRF Country Update: Religious Freedom in Pakistan in 2022 August 5, 2022
"Notan Lal: Pakistani Prisoner of Conscience" Hindu American Foundation (HAF)
"Pakistani police detain Hindu school principal over ‘blasphemy’" Al Jazeera
"Riots break out in Ghotki over alleged blasphemy by school principal" Dawn