VIETNAM: Religious Prisoner of Conscience Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh Released

USCIRF Urges the United States to Continue Raising Religious Freedom with Vietnam

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed relief that the Vietnamese government has released religious prisoner of conscience Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh and allowed him, his wife Tran Thi Hong, and their five children to leave the country. Pastor Chinh was sentenced in 2012 to 11 years’ imprisonment and endured solitary confinement and torture in prison. The family has arrived in the United States after the U.S. government granted Pastor Chinh humanitarian parole.

“The Vietnamese government finally has done the right thing by releasing Pastor Chinh from prison.  We welcome his admission, along with his family, to the United States.  The reality is that he should not have been imprisoned in the first place for simply practicing his faith,” said USCIRF Commissioner Jackie Wolcott, who has advocated on behalf of the pastor. “Pastor Chinh was falsely charged and imprisoned and treated cruelly, as are countless other religious believers and human rights activists who continue to be harassed, detained, and tortured in Vietnam.”  

Commissioner Wolcott took up the case of Pastor Chinh and his wife as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. Through this project, Commissioners work for the release of individuals who have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs, practices, advocacy, or identity and the laws and practices that led to their imprisonment.

USCIRF commends the brave efforts of Pastor Chinh’s wife, Tran Thi Hong, who worked tirelessly on behalf of her husband. Vietnamese authorities frequently harassed and surveilled Mrs. Hong, including beating her for meeting with then U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein about her husband’s case.

USCIRF has recommended since 2002 that the State Department designate Vietnam as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. Through law, policy, and practice, the Vietnamese government perpetrates or tolerates serious religious freedom abuses, particularly against unregistered religious organizations and in rural areas of some provinces.

“Although USCIRF recommends Vietnam be designated a CPC, we also recognize that the government has demonstrated a willingness to engage on freedom of religion or belief,” said USCIRF Chairman Dr. Daniel Mark, who has traveled to Vietnam on behalf of USCIRF. “The United States must continue to ensure that religious freedom is pursued both privately and publicly at every level of the bilateral relationship so that Vietnam takes positive and lasting steps toward freedom of religion or belief, including releasing religious prisoners of conscience.”

For more information, please see USCIRF’s chapter on Vietnam from its 2017 Annual Report (in English and Vietnamese) or USCIRF’s report, Religious Freedom in Vietnam: Assessing the Country of Particular Concern Designation 10 Years After its Removal (in English and Vietnamese).

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 John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).

USCIRF Praises Nomination of a New Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom

USCIRF Commends the White House for Action to Promote the Freedom of Religion or Belief

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the White House nomination of Governor Sam Brownback of Kansas as the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. As a Senator from 1996-2011, he was at the forefront of international religious freedom issues.

USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark stated that, “The Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom is a vital post and Gov. Brownback is an outstanding choice for it. The person who fills this position will be America’s primary voice for the freedom of religion abroad and Gov. Brownback has impressive qualifications in this area. The Ambassador-at-Large also plays a key role in USCIRF’s work as an ex officio member of the Commission, so we look forward to working with him.”

While in the Senate, Gov. Brownback consistently supported religious freedom and human rights for all, serving as co-chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.  His record included: legislation condemning Iran for its treatment of Baha’is; sanctions on Vietnam for human rights abuses; legislation to protect religious communities in Russia; and actions providing for humane treatment of immigrant detainees. In addition, he was a key sponsor of the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act that established USCIRF and the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom.

In May 2000, then Sen. Brownback chaired a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to review the first USCIRF annual report. He described an atmosphere that was more open to a public discussion of religious freedom. He added that he hoped it was not a “cyclical thing, but rather something…on a trajectory toward growth, that we recognize this most fundamental of human rights.”

“We are very pleased that President Trump has made this selection,” added Chairman Mark. “Gov. Brownback understands that religious freedom violations must be sharply highlighted and that progress must be clearly recognized, precisely what USCIRF aims to do in its work. We hope that the Senate confirms his nomination swiftly.”

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 John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).

Commissioner John Ruskay sent the following letter to Russian religious prisoner of conscience Bagir Kazikhanov.

Click here to read the Russian translation of the letter.

July 26, 2017

Bagir,

I write recognizing that this letter never may reach you. Through my position as a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), I have become aware of your dire situation and have resolved to dedicate my efforts to securing your unconditional release from prison.

You and your fellow Muslims studied Said Nursi, an Islamic commentator who called for Islam to be modernized.  Said Nursi rejected hatred and violence. Yet the Russian government, because officials believe that your peaceful practices threaten national security and pose a cultural and physical threat to Russia, denied you your freedom. In February 2015, you were accused under the Criminal Code of recruiting a “terrorist” cell of Nursi followers and sentenced to three and a half years’ imprisonment.  

The Russian government accused you of participating in extremist activity, which you have not. They accused you of founding a terror cell, which you did not. And they believe that your beliefs pose an existential threat to Russia, which they do not.  

What you have done is peacefully follow the dictates of your conscience.  Yet the Russian government surveils, investigates, and prosecutes you and many of your fellow Nursi readers for alleged extremism despite no link to such activities.  And because of that you have lost your freedom.

Bagir, you have my support and the support of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. My colleagues and I will continue to highlight your case, and hope to meet you as a free man in the very near future.

Sincerely,

John Ruskay

John Ruskay is a Commissioner at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). USCIRF 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 John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).

USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project highlights the plight of individuals who have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs, practices or identity. Click here to learn more about Bagir Kazikhanov.

Click here to watch Commissioner Ruskay’s statement in support of Bagir Kazikhanov.