February 14, 2012 | by USCIRF

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed grave concern today for Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old blogger in Saudi Arabia who could face apostasy charges that carry the death penalty.

Earlier this month, Kashgari allegedly posted comments on his Twitter account that some in the Saudi religious establishment and public consider blasphemous. After receiving numerous death threats, Kashgari fled the Kingdom last Thursday for Malaysia. Malaysian authorities arrested him and this past Sunday deported him back to Saudi Arabia, where Saudi authorities immediately detained him. A committee of senior Saudi clerics appointed by Saudi King Abdullah reportedly declared Kashgari to be an apostate. According to reports, King Abdullah previously had called for Kashgari"s arrest and a trial.

"Mr. Kashgari should not be charged with any crime. Laws against apostasy and blasphemy violate the internationally-guaranteed individual rights to freedom of religion and expression and, as evidenced by this case, exacerbate religious intolerance, discrimination, and violence and lead to grave human rights abuses,” said USCIRF chair Leonard Leo .

In an unrelated case, King Abdullah last week pardoned Hadi Al-Mutif, an Ismaili Muslim man who had been one of the longest held religious prisoners in the world.

"Hadi Al-Mutif had been in prison since 1994 on apostasy charges for an offhanded remark he made as a teenager. For years, USCIRF had pushed for Al-Mutif"s release with high-level Saudi officials. While USCIRF welcomes his release, Hadi suffered tremendously during his 18 years in prison, alleging physical and emotional abuse, in addition to his poor physical and mental health. We wish him a full recovery and reintegration into society,” said Leo.

"The Saudi government should release Hamza Kashgari and other prisoners of conscience held on blasphemy and other charges on the basis of religion or belief,” said Leo.

Since 2004, the U.S. State Department has designated Saudi Arabia a "country of particular concern,” or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, a designation that USCIRF has recommended since 2000.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, contact Paul Liben at [email protected] or (703) 870-6041.

February 13, 2012 | by USCIRF

WHO: USCIRF Commissioners and the relatives of imprisoned Iranian Baha'is, including six Baha'i educators who remain in prison after being convicted and sentenced last year to 4 and 5 year prison terms.

In May 2011, in at least four different cities, Iranian authorities raided more than 30 homes of Baha'is involved with the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), the community's 24 year-old effort to educate its youth, whom the government bars from undergraduate or graduate studies. Approximately 18 Baha'is were arrested and a number of books, documents, computers, and other materials associated with the BIHE were seized. Several Baha'is were released after days or weeks in detention, but in October, seven were tried and found guilty of membership in a deviant sect with the goal of taking action against the security of the country.

The seven were sentenced to either 4- or 5-year prison terms. In January 2012, Vahid Mahmoudi, one of the seven educators imprisoned, was released after his sentence was suspended. The other six educators remain in prison. In September 2011, prominent human rights defender Abdolfattah Soltani was arrested for preparing a defense for the Baha'i educators. He remains in prison. He was arrested and detained for several months in 2005 and 2009 under similar circumstances.

USCIRF has recommended that Iran be designated a "country of particular concern” (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, including prolonged dentition, torture, and executions based primarily upon the religion of the accused. Since 1999, the State Department has designated Iran a CPC.

WHEN: Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 8:30 am

WHERE: US Commission on International Religious Freedom, 800 North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 790, Washington D.C., 20008

MEDIA R.S.V.P: Paul Liben at [email protected] or (703) 870-6041

February 9, 2012 | by Leonard A. Leo and Elizabeth H. Prodromou

The following article appeared in The Hill today. For a link to the original article, go to http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/209781-honoring-religious-freedom-after-arab-spring .

As Egypt marks the first anniversary of Hosni Mubarak"s historic departure on February 11, urgent challenges await it and other Middle Eastern and North African states. From Tunisia to Egypt, elections raise hopes for democracy. Yet the ballot box alone will not ensure the triumph of human rights and freedom over tyranny and oppression. What happens after the elections is as critical.

Will the rule of law be enforced? Will women"s rights be defined and protected? Will minority rights be respected? Will the full panoply of human rights be guaranteed under law and applied by government officials? Will the freedom of religion or belief be recognized as central to democracy? The answers to these questions will determine whether democracy will take hold.

None is more important than whether religious freedom will be protected. Studies show a positive correlation between this freedom and civil and political rights, economic liberty, and personal and national security -- and a negative correlation with social conflict and state violence and repression. Egypt"s frightening sectarian violence, threatening religious pluralism and religious minority communities, underscores these linkages.

One of the most crucial ways that elected leaders can bolster religious freedom and related rights is by enshrining them in their constitutions. It is not all that must be done, but it"s an essential first step. Egypt can set the standard. By protecting religious freedom, Egypt"s parliament can send a message to the region about the intrinsic linkages between this foundational right and broader liberties.

Elsewhere, Prime Minister Erdogan recently announced his government"s intent to proceed with long-delayed reforms to Turkey"s constitution. Jordan"s King Abdullah II is being pressed by political opposition parties for reforms to his country"s constitution. Bahrain"s King Hamad has met with opposition critical to recently-announced constitutional amendments. While contexts vary, such efforts must ensure that international standards are respected in constitutional drafts. There are a number of key touchstones to consider.

First, national constitutions should recognize freedom of religion, thought, conscience, and belief as a universal right. By signing the UN Charter, each of the 193 member states of the United Nations concurred, as did the drafters of numerous international instruments, beginning with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Egypt and other nations should act accordingly through their own constitutions.

Constitutions must recognize religious freedom for individuals and communities alike. Each person"s freedom to hold and to manifest any religion or belief -- and, equally important, not to hold any religious belief -- should not be abridged, aside from exceptions spelled out in international law. Whether part of a religious minority or majority, whether an adherent of a traditional religion, a newer religion, or no religion, and whether a citizen or a non-citizen, every human being should possess the freedom of religion or belief.

Besides recognizing it as a universal right and empowering individuals and communities to exercise it, national constitutions should also affirm that religious freedom includes the right to keep or to change one"s own religion or belief without coercion and to manifest it publicly, as well as to persuade others to change their beliefs or affiliations voluntarily. Any limitations on these freedoms must be prescribed by narrowly construed law consistent with international agreements.

Finally, for countries declaring one religion as the official religion, religious freedom must be respected for all, without bias. Providing benefits to state religions not available to other faiths would constitute discrimination, as would excepting them from processes normally required for faith communities to establish legal personality.

As Egypt marks the one-year anniversary of Mubarak"s fall, its leaders can set an example by drafting a new national constitution that upholds these international legal standards for religious freedom. Such a constitution would enhance the prospect that democracy, marked by principles of equality and tolerance, takes root. To be sure, neither elections nor constitutions that respect religious freedom can guarantee democracy, but they are necessary steps along its path.
 

Leo and Prodromou serve as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, contactPaul Liben at [email protected] or (703) 870-6041.