Gender: Male
Current Location: Investigation Prison No. 5 in Karshi (Shaykhali Prison)
Perpetrator: Uzbekistan
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sunni
Sentence: 8 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: June/18/2024
Date of Sentencing: December/18/2024
Current Status: Not Released
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Discussing Religion & Religious Texts
Nature of Charges: Extremism
Anvar Abdullayev
Extra Bio Info:
Anvar Abdullayev is imprisoned for his independent religious activity.
On June 18, 2024, police arrested Abdullayev and other Muslims he was associated with after some of their group had attended a meal at the home of a state employee on that day. Reportedly, the employee regularly arranges meetings for Muslims during which he encourages attendees to make illegal statements while secretly recording them. During the arrests, police were dressed in military camouflage, carried machine guns, and used force. The Kashkadarya Regional Police Criminal Investigation Department charged Abdullayev with "creating, leading, or participating in religious extremist, separatist, fundamentalist or other banned organizations" (Art. 244-2.1 UCC).
On December 18, 2024, the Karshi Criminal Court sentenced Abdullayev to eight years in a strict regime prison.
Related Cases: Laziz Vokhidov; Khasan Abdirakhimov; Gaybullo Jalilov; Sardor Jurayev; Jamshid Abdirakhimov; Umar Khalimov
Publicly Available Information:
Jul 31, 2025
One of the most important elements of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 is the requirement for the U.S. Secretary of State to designate the world’s worst violators of religious freedom as Countries of Particular Concern and to enact accountability measures as a result of those designations. Subsequent legislation created a Special Watch List for other countries with significant violations and created a new category of Entities of Particular Concern for nonstate actors that commit such violations and control territory. However, the State Department last released its designations nearly two years ago, in December 2023—and they are now set to expire later this year.
On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck joins Deputy Director of Research and Policy Kurt Werthmuller to discuss the importance of the State Departments CPC, SWL, and EPC designations, as well as to share reflections on his time as USCIRF Chair over the previous year.
Read USCIRF’s 2025 Annual Report—including its current CPC, SWL, and EPC recommendations—and the U.S. legislation behind these designations.
Jul 28, 2025
USCIRF Releases Report on Religious Freedom in Iran
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released the following report:
Iran Country Update – This report evaluates the Islamic Republic of Iran’s continued violations of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) both domestically and abroad. It highlights the government’s recent targeting of religious minorities—including Baha’is, Jews, Christians, Sunnis, and other non-Muslim minority groups—in the wake of a June 2025 military escalation. It assesses the state’s FoRB violations targeting religious minorities and restrictions on FoRB particularly affecting women and girls. The report also details Iran’s global campaign to target Jewish sites and people abroad through antisemitic propaganda and physical attacks.
In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Iran as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, egregious, and ongoing violations of religious freedom.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress, intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].