USCIRF Commissioner Andy Khawaja Adopts Religious
Prisoner of Conscience Robert Levinson

12^th Anniversary Passes for Missing American Who Disappeared in Iran

WASHINGTON, DC – Andy Khawaja, Commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today announced, as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project, his adoption of Robert Levinson, an American of the Jewish faith who disappeared in 2007 and is believed to be held captive by the Iranian government under suspicions of espionage.

This week marks 12 years since Levinson’s disappearance. In 2013, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his government was willing to cooperate in gathering information about Levinson’s disappearance, but his whereabouts remain unknown. In 2015, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution calling for Levinson’s release and the same year, the FBI offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his whereabouts.

“I call on the Iranian government to provide information about Robert Levinson’s current whereabouts and to return him to his family here in the United States immediately,” said Khawaja. “Levinson’s presumed captivity has been a travesty and now is the time for Iran to honor their commitment to cooperate and to respect human rights, including religious freedom.”

Since Levinson’s disappearance, members of Congress have repeatedly introduced draft legislation, the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage Taking Accountability bill, which would authorize the imposition of sanctions on persons responsible for hostage-taking or unlawful detention abroad among other measures. This bill was most recently reintroduced in 2019 by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and has bipartisan support. 

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to 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] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2019

USCIRF Expresses Condolences on Death of Armenian Patriarch, Mesrob II, and Calls on Turkey to Allow Free Election of New Patriarch
 

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today expressed condolences on the death of Mesrob Mutafyan, who was elected leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Turkey in 1998. The Armenian community in Turkey is estimated to be around 90,000, most of whom reside in or around Istanbul. USCIRF also urges the government of Turkey to allow this community to freely hold elections for a new patriarch. Last year Turkish authorities again prevented the community from holding an election for a new leader.

“We express our condolences to the Armenian community in Turkey on the loss of its spiritual leader,” said USCIRF Commissioner Andy Khawaja. “We also want to take this opportunity to urge the government of Turkey to allow this community to elect its new patriarch. The ability of Turkey’s Armenians to freely choose a new patriarch is a critical part of their religious freedom. The government’s prevention of an election continues to exemplify its willful disregard for religious freedom for all.”

In its 2018 Annual Report, USCIRF placed Turkey on Tier 2 for engaging in or tolerating religious freedom violations that meet at least one of the elements of the “systematic, ongoing, egregious” standard used to designate a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to 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] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2019

USCIRF Urges President Trump to Address Religious Freedom Abuses in North Korea

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today called on President Donald J. Trump to raise the issue of religious freedom violations in North Korea during his upcoming second summit with Kim Jong-un in Vietnam.

“We urge President Trump to seize this important opportunity to again bring attention to the severe violations of religious freedom and other inexcusable human rights perpetrated by the North Korean government,” said Chair Tenzin Dorjee. “USCIRF was encouraged when President Trump raised these issues at last year’s summit. He should do so again, and continue to take every opportunity to raise these concerns until North Koreans are able to exercise religious freedom and other fundamental human rights freely and without fear.”

USCIRF has repeatedly recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate North Korea a “country of particular concern” (CPC) for “systematic, ongoing, egregious” violations of religious freedom. In USCIRF’s most recent policy update, the Commission found that the North Korean government’s approach to religion and belief is among the most repressive in the world. The update stated, “Put simply, freedom of religion or belief does not exist in North Korea…independent believers often face arrest, torture, beatings, and execution.”

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to 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] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.