Dec 09

WHEN:

Dec 9th 10:30am - Dec 9th 12:00pm

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing

Blasphemy Laws and the Violation of International Religious Freedom

Wednesday, December 9, 2020
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Virtual Hearing

Hearing Transcript

Hearing Summary

Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual hearing about new findings from USCIRF’s report on the enforcement of global blasphemy laws and the multiple ways they mobilize violence against religious communities.

Blasphemy laws often criminalize any form of expression that allegedly insults or offends religious doctrines, making it essentially illegal to express religious views different from the majority, including the right not to believe. They are often misused to target faith communities. For example, in Indonesia, where Ahmadi Muslims and Chinese Indonesians are targeted for allegedly committing blasphemy, enforcement is used as a political tool along religious and ethnic lines.

The enforcement of blasphemy laws often sparks incidents or threats of mob violence. In 2019, the government of Mauritania’s inability to protect its citizens from the threat of mob violence was used as justification to continue detaining blogger, Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir, who was accused of blasphemy. In Pakistan, vigilantes violently target not only the alleged blasphemer, but also attack lawyers, family members, and the surrounding faith community. The public statements of support for Asia Bibi resulted in the two high-profile murders of Shahbaz Bhatti, a cabinet member, and Salman Taseer, then Governor of Punjab.

Witnesses will provide an overview of blasphemy laws around the world, along with the trends in their enforcement, and present policy recommendations to the U.S. government.

Opening Remarks

Panel of Witnesses

  • Joelle Fiss, Member of the Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief, ODIHR, OSCE; and co-author of USCIRF’s new report on blasphemy laws
    Written Testimony
  • Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum, Associate Professor of Clinical Law, Cardozo School of Law; and co-author of USCIRF’s new report on blasphemy laws
    Written Testimony
  • Amjad Mahmood Khan, Lecturer in Law, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law
    Written Testimony
  • Shaan Taseer, son of Salmaan Taseer, the former governor of Punjab province killed for blasphemy; co-founder of Pakistan for All
    Written Testimony
  • Elizabeth O’Casey, Director of Advocacy, Humanists International
    Written Testimony
     

Witnesses’ Bios

 

Documents submitted for the record:

Statement by Dr. Richard Benkin

Statement by the Hindu American Foundation

 

 

This hearing is open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the public, and the media. Members of the media should register online and can email [email protected] for any questions or to schedule an interview. The video recording of the hearing will be posted on the Commission website. For any additional questions, please contact Nina Ullom at [email protected] or (202) 322-0232.

Nov 24, 2020

USCIRF Releases New Report about Countering Violent Extremism in Tajikistan

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:

Issue Update: Promoting Religious Freedom and Countering Violent Extremism in Tajikistan —This update describes Tajikistan’s official campaign to control and restrict Islamic practice, ostensibly an effort to combat the spread of terrorism and violent extremism but, in reality, represents harsh and counterproductive religious freedom restrictions. Contemporary research on effectively countering violent extremism demonstrates that religious freedom and security are symbiotic rather than mutually exclusive. This report recommends that U.S. government engagement with Tajikistan reflect best practices by integrating religious freedom requirements into all security assistance.

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. State Department designate Tajikistan a “country of particular concern” for its ongoing, systematic, and egregious religious freedom violations.

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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].

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: India

Ethnic Group: Tamil

Religion or Belief: Christian – Catholic

Health Concerns: Parkinson's disease, Contracted COVID-19

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes

Date of Detainment: October/8/2020

Date of Death: July/5/2021

Current Status: Deceased

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Civil Rights Work for Religious Communities Human Rights Work for Religious Communities

Nature of Charges: Criminal Premeditation & Conspiracy Hate Speech Terrorism Treason & Sedition

Stan Swamy

Extra Bio Info:

Stan Swamy was detained and died in state custody for his civil society work helping religious communities.

On October 8, 2020, the National Investigation Agency arrested Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist known for working to protect the rights of Adivasi peoples and Dalits, from his home in Ranchi. Swamy was charged alongside several other prominent Dalit and Adivasi rights activists, whom authorities accused of inciting caste-based violence through speeches on December 31, 2017, that resulted in violent clashes the next day in Bhima Koregaon and neighboring villages in Maharashtra state. Authorities also accused them of having ties to banned Maoist groups. Swamy was reportedly charged under various sections of the Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), including conspiracy (Sec. 120B IPC), “waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India” (Sec. 121 IPC), “conspiracy to commit offences” waging war against the state (Sec. 121A IPC), sedition (Sec. 124A IPC), unlawful activities (Sec. 13 UAPA), terrorist acts (Sec. 16 UAPA), conspiracy (Sec. 18 UAPA), being member of terrorist gang or organization (Sec. 20 UAPA), associating with a terrorist organization (Sec. 38 UAPA), and supporting a terrorist organization (Sec. 39 UAPA).  At the time, Swamy was reportedly the oldest person to be accused of terrorism. He was 83 years old.

Swamy's requests for bail were repeatedly denied, despite his deteriorating health.  Swamy, who suffered from Parkinson's Disease, reportedly became unable to feed and bathe himself. Prison authorities also reportedly denied him basic amenities, such as a straw and sipper, to help with his Parkinson's.

On July 5, 2021, Swamy died in state custody reportedly from cardiac arrest following his contraction of COVID-19 in May 2021.

In August 2021, the National Investigation Agency submitted draft charges to a special court in Mumbai, claiming that Swamy and others accused in the case were active members of the banned terrorist organization Communist Party of India. It also alleged that the accused wanted to establish a “janta sarkar” “via revolution supported by a commitment to protracted armed struggle to undermine and to seize power from the state.” The accused were charged with over a dozen offenses including, "promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony" (Sec. 153A IPC), public mischief (Sec. 505(1)(B) IPC), “waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India” (Sec. 121 IPC), “conspiracy to commit offences” waging war against the state (Sec. 121A IPC), sedition (Sec. 124A IPC), and several sections under UAPA.

In February 2022, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released an opinion, declaring Swamy's detention arbitrary and his death "utterly preventable."

Related Cases: Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Anand Teltumbde, Hany Babu, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Sagar Tatyarao Gorakhe, Jyoti Jagtap

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