Nov 23, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Commissioner Jim Carr today announced his adoption of Pastor Raymond Koh through the Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.
Pastor Koh is a Christian pastor who, prior to his disappearance, ran a NGO focused on people living with HIV/AIDs, recovering addicts, and single mothers and children. Local Islamic authorities had investigated his organization over allegations that the group was working to convert Muslims to Christianity.
“The government of Malaysia must make good on its promise to conduct a transparent and thorough investigation of the circumstances of Pastor Koh’s abduction, and ensure his wellbeing and safe return home,” said Commissioner Carr, “Malaysia is a leading economy and democracy in Southeast Asia. However, as USCIRF has consistently noted, its respect for freedom of religion and belief is critically lacking. The basic rights of vulnerable religious communities must be protected.”
Pastor Koh disappeared on February 13, 2017 in the Malaysian state of Selangor. The National Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) announced in 2019 that Raymond Koh was a victim of enforced disappearance carried out by the Special Branch, an intelligence unit affiliated with the Malaysian police force. In its report, SUHAKAM investigated the cases of several individuals whom it determined were examples of enforced disappearances perpetrated by certain parts of the Malaysian security forces. In response to this investigation, the Malaysian government set up a task force in June 2019 to investigate the disappearances of Pastor Koh and others, which is still ongoing.
In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Malaysia as a “special watch list country” due to its systematic and ongoing violations of religious freedom. USCIRF has reported on Pastor Koh in its October 2019 Factsheet on Enforced Disappearances in Malaysia
In addition to his adoption into the RPOC Project, Pastor Koh joins one other Malaysian victim of disappearance on USCIRF’s Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Victims List, a database that catalogues select victims targeted due to their freedom of religion or belief.
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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].
USCIRF ADVOCATE: Nury Turkel
Country:
ChinaKey Fact:
well-known Uyghur poet, reporter at the state-run People's Radio, and author
Detained Since:
Dec 1, 2017
Biography:
Adil Tuniyaz is a well-known Uyghur poet, reporter at the state-run People's Radio, and author of the books Questions for an Apple and Manifesto for Universal Poetry. Tuniyaz and his wife, Nezire Muhammad Salih, were both arrested in December 2017. Their eldest son, Imran (19 years old), was also arrested at a Beijing school where he was studying Arabic. Imran was reportedly sent to a detention facility in Xinjiang. It is believed that their three younger children have been placed in state-run orphanages for Uyghur youth whose guardians have been detained. Adil's father-in-law, the well known Uyghur scholar Muhammad Salih Hajim, died in a re-education camp in Urumqi in January 2018.
A Chinese officer at a prison in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture's Miquan county, where another relative is being held, informed family members in February 2018 that they "shouldn't hold out any hope for Nezire and Adil" because of the seriousness of the accusations against them. Reportedly, they were targeted at least in part because they translated religious materials, including hadiths, which drew the attention of the Chinese government.
Nov 20, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USCIRF Welcomes U.S. House Passage of Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of the Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act (H.R. 5408) and urges Senate passage of the bill.
“The Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act (H.R. 5408) is a critical piece of legislation that will help hold Russia accountable for its many religious freedom violations in occupied Ukraine,” USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel stated. “We welcome passage of the bill in the House, and commend Representatives Joe Wilson and Emanuel Cleaver for their effective bipartisan leadership. USCIRF urges swift approval in the Senate and asks the President to sign it.”
Representative Wilson recently spoke about the importance of this bill at USCIRF’s hearing on Religious Freedom in Russia and Central Asia.
“Russia continues to persecute Crimean Tatar Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ukrainian Orthodox, and other religious minorities through its illegal occupation of Ukraine,” added USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “The time has come for the Department of State to designate Russia a County of Particular Concern (CPC) for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. H.R. 5408 will help to make that a reality, which is sorely needed by the longsuffering people of occupied Ukraine.”
USCIRF recommended that the State Department designate Russia as a CPC in its 2020 Annual Report, and advocated for this action in a recent editorial, as well as through reports on Religious Regulation in Russia and the Global Persecution of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The State Department’s next CPC designations are expected before the end of this year.
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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].