This op-ed originally appeared in The Hill on July 27, 2018.

By former USCIRF Commissioners Tenzin Dorjee and Kristina Arriaga

To the surprise of many, there is a foreign policy issue on which the White House and  Democrats and Republicans in Congress have agreed for over two decades: the global promotion and protection of religious freedom, defined as the fundamental human right to believe in and be guided by any faith, or none.

As articulated in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and codified in the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), freedom of religion or belief means the rights of citizens are not dependent on their religious identity, practices or beliefs. This “first freedom” is the basis for many other rights, like the freedoms of speech, expression and association. In many countries where religious freedom is denied, not only are those countries’ inhabitants at risk, their national security and stability is undermined. Relatedly, freedom of religion or belief is crucial to America’s national security.

Republicans and Democrats alike recognize that where freedom of religion or belief is restricted, poverty and violence begin. It is in the countries that deprive their citizens of freedom of conscience that human trafficking and forced labor flourish. And it is in these countries that the roots of terrorism are sown.

The Trump administration seems to be especially cognizant of these threats to human dignity and regional and global security and stability. This week, the Department of State hosted the first Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, which drew hundreds of those involved in the global fight to defend religious freedom. Representatives of governments, international organizations, religious communities, civil society and others shared information, built awareness, debated policies and collaborated on solutions for people worldwide who are oppressed and persecuted because of their beliefs.

Religious freedom violations — ranging from discrimination to forced conversions to mass atrocities — are increasing in countries with authoritarian regimes that are aligned with their countries’ majority religions, or fearful of the influence of moral principles or alternative expressions they can’t control.

Among the 16 countries that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) considers “Countries of Particular Concern (CPC),” Pakistan is an example of the former; the government both actively persecutes religious minorities and turns a blind eye to discrimination and violence perpetrated against them by others. Examples of the latter include Vietnam, where communism is the only respected ideology or “belief.”

USCIRF has recommended to the State Department that these two countries (plus the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Russia and Syria) be designated as CPCs, which, under IRFA, would require the administration to take actions such as imposing Global Magnitsky sanctions, economic sanctions or travel limitations, to encourage improvements in freedom of religion or belief.

Tools the United States and other like-minded countries can use to promote and defend religious freedom were chief among the topics raised at the ministerial.

Another issue discussed is the link between violations of religious freedom and women's rights. Along with increased rates of sex trafficking, child and forced marriages, and gender-based violence in countries that deprive their citizens of freedom of conscience, there is little room for human rights defenders to mobilize to advocate for women’s rights.

In addition to addressing the countries that violate religious freedom, ministerial attendees sought solutions to the egregious religious freedom violations being committed by “Entities of Particular Concern (EPCs)." USCIRF has identified as EPCs and called for action against three of the most violent such groups: ISIS, which has committed genocide against Yazidis, Christians, and Shi’a Muslims in Iraq; the Taliban, whose extremist interpretations of Sharia law have led to honor killings and denials of women’s right to education and other basic rights in Afghanistan; and the al Qaeda-aligned al-Shabaab that that has killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, in Somalia.

Countries and organizations that suppress religious freedom threaten American and global security. Everyone should be encouraged by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s initiative to hold this ministerial. Protecting this fundamental right is not just a means of demonstrating our country’s bipartisan commitment to human dignity and global peace and stability, it’s in our national security interest.

Tenzin Dorjee serves as chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Kristina Arriaga serves as vice chair of USCIRF.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 25, 2018

Pastor Andrew Brunson Placed Under House Arrest

“It is good that Pastor Brunson will have some relief after being held in a Turkish prison for more than 600 days. But it is not enough,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today welcomed a Turkish court’s decision to place Pastor Andrew Brunson under house arrest. Pastor Brunson is an American citizen and leader of a small Protestant Christian church in Turkey who has been unjustly detained since October 7, 2016 on false charges. USCIRF Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga attended his third hearing in Aliaga, Turkey, on July 18, 2018. USCIRF has condemned the charges against Pastor Brunson and has called for his immediate release.

“This is welcome news,” said Vice Chair Arriaga. “It is good that Pastor Brunson will have some relief after being held in a Turkish prison for more than 600 days. But it is not enough. The Turkish government has deprived this innocent man of his due process rights and liberty for too long, and it must completely release him. If it fails to do so, the Trump Administration and the Congress should respond strongly and swiftly with targeted sanctions against the authorities responsible.”

High-level U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, have called for Pastor Brunson’s release. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently spoke about the ongoing detention of American citizens, including Pastor Brunson, in Turkey.  

On October 5, 2017, USCIRF Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga and then USCIRF Vice Chair Sandra Jolley were granted access to Kiriklar Prison in Izmir, Turkey and allowed to visit with Pastor Brunson. They were his first visitors outside of family, legal counsel, and U.S. embassy officials. They described their visit in an opinion editorial for Religion News Service, which can be found here. Vice Chair Arriaga described what she saw at the July 18 hearing in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal which can be found here.

In 2018, USCIRF placed Turkey on its Tier 2 list of countries noted for violations of religious freedom and began advocating for Pastor Brunson as a part of its Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.

For more information, see USCIRF’s 2018 annual report chapter on Turkey.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Javier Peña at [email protected] +1-202-786-0633).

This op-ed was originally published by the Wall Street Journal on Jul9 19, 2018.

By former USCIRF Commissioner Kristina Arriaga

President Trump tweeted Wednesday evening: “A total disgrace that Turkey will not release a respected U.S. Pastor, Andrew Brunson, from prison. He has been held hostage far too long.” He called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to free the North Carolina native, who has spent more than 600 days behind bars.

Mr. Brunson, a Presbyterian minister, stands accused of aiding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a militant terrorist group known by the initials PKK, and supporting Mr. Erdogan’s exiled rival, Fethullah Gülen. The prosecution is calling for 35 years in prison. For the 50-year-old American, who has spent 23 years leading a church in Turkey, that’s effectively a life sentence.

The ordeal started in October 2016. Mr. Brunson received a notice to appear at the local police station in Izmir. He did and hasn’t been home since. After 13 days in detention, authorities placed him in an overcrowded prison cell, where he stayed for several months before he was moved to a more humane cell with only one roommate. He spent more than a year without being charged. Meantime, the government-controlled press ran absurd accounts about his supposed involvement in the 2016 coup attempt against Mr. Erdogan.

American officials started questioning the pastor’s arrest, but Turkey denied the detention had anything to do with his Christianity. Yet in the 62-page indictment, which the prosecution leaked to the press before presenting it to Mr. Brunson’s lawyer, the government alleges that his pastoring had the effect of “dividing and separating [Turkey], by means of Christianization.” The government also alleged that Gülenists and the PKK “misuse persons’ religious beliefs and try to create a synergy that poses a threat to their own government.”

Since the indictment, the government has held three hearings—each more bizarre than the last. Most of the evidence is based on secret testimony obtained by the government. Wednesday’s hearing in Izmir, which I attended, proved as preposterous as the others.

Three judges sat on a raised wood-paneled dais. At a lower level, Mr. Brunson’s attorney stood behind a fixed podium. Witnesses were placed across from the attorney. Sitting on a row of fixed chairs sat Mr. Brunson, who has lost 50 pounds while imprisoned. Behind him, among hundreds of empty chairs, five policemen idled. On the opposite side of the court, Mr. Brunson’s wife watched quietly. She was surrounded by fellow Christian pastors, friends, foreign and local press, and U.S. diplomatic officers.

The judges allowed a single witness for the defense to speak. This was a “concession,” as they had previously said only prosecution witnesses could testify. The judges aided the prosecution witnesses’ recollections by reminding them of their written testimony. When a judge asked one of the witnesses about the names of people involved in activities against Turkey, the witness replied that while he didn’t remember now, he might remember later. The judge accepted this reply.

For two hours the pastor sat straight, serenely listening to people claiming to be members of his church, saying he provided Bibles in Kurdish and kept a map of Kurdistan. None of the judges asked to see evidence, and none was presented.

At noon, a judge asked Mr. Brunson to speak. He replied in Turkish: “My faith teaches me to forgive. I forgive those who testified against me.” The judge loudly objected to this mention of faith and admonished Mr. Brunson to speak on the facts only. The pastor added later: “None of the witnesses heard from my mouth a word that was sympathetic with the PKK.” At the end, a judge announced the next hearing would take place in October.

Mr. Trump’s tweet wasn’t the first plea for Mr. Brunson’s freedom. The White House, the secretary of state and several senators have worked for his release. Last month Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jeanne Shaheen visited Mr. Erdogan and asked him to free the pastor. The Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act calls for the U.S. government not to sell F-35 jets to Turkey unless Mr. Brunson is released. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recently agreed to take the case. Yet Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, won’t budge.

Ankara responded to the president’s tweet, claiming that the “Brunson case is a legal process” and “Turkey is a state of law.” This simply isn’t true. Since the coup attempt, Mr. Erdogan has initiated a rapid crackdown on civil liberties, religious freedom among them. Turkey’s Constitution provides for freedom of belief and worship, along with the personal right to share religious ideas.

But as Mr. Brunson’s case shows, religious freedom has become a nominal right in Turkey. Such a blatant contradiction between Turkey’s Constitution and its conduct should give pause to anyone considering traveling to or doing business in Turkey.

Ms. Arriaga is vice chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.