Additional Name(s): Mamat Ablat

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: China

Ethnic Group: Uyghur

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other

Health Concerns: Mental health issues

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 16 or 17 Years' Imprisonment

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Ethnoreligious Identity Religious Activity

Nature of Charges: Unknown

Memet Ablet

Extra Bio Info:

Memet Ablet is imprisoned for his ethnoreligious identity and religious activity.

In early 2018,authorities arrested Ablet, a businessperson and shop owner, reportedly in relation to his religious activity.  He was reportedly briefly detained in 2015 with several others while at a local mosque.

On an unspecified date, Ablet was reportedly sentenced to 16 or 17 years in prison.

Ablet has a history of mental illness.

Ablet is married with one child.

Publicly Available Information:

Additional Name(s): Shiri Memtili, شىرئەلى مەمەتئېلى

Gender: Male

Current Location: Wusu Prison

Perpetrator: China

Ethnic Group: Uyghur

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 16 Years, 8 Months' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: November//2018

Date of Sentencing: May//2019

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Ethnoreligious Identity Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role Religious Instruction & Teaching

Nature of Charges: Illegal Assembly Separatism

Shireli Memeteli

Extra Bio Info:

Shireli Memeteli is imprisoned for his ethnoreligious identity.

In November 2018, authorities detained Memeteli, a taxi driver, reportedly for transporting a religious figure and receiving an illegal religious education.

In May 2019, a Xinjiang court sentenced him to 16 years and eight months in prison for "inciting separatism" (Art. 103 CCL) and "gathering a crowd to disturb social order" (Art. 291 CCL).

Memeteli is believed to be serving his sentence in Wusu Prison.

Memeteli has two children.

Publicly Available Information:

Nov 5, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

USCIRF Releases Report on the Saudi Guardianship System

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a new report on Saudi religious guardianship laws:

Saudi Guardianship Report – This report describes Saudi Arabia’s guardianship system and explains how it restricts religious freedom in the country. It briefly reviews the history of guardianship laws in Saudi Arabia and the key concepts in Islam that the Saudi government references in its singular interpretation of the religion. The report details the severe effects of guardianship laws on Saudi women, including limitations on their ability to marry, travel, attend university, and obtain medical care. The report recommends that the U.S. administration press the Saudi government to dismantle the religious guardianship system and free activists who have been jailed for peacefully protesting that system.

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department designate Saudi Arabia as a ‘country of particular concern’ in part because of the systematic and egregious restrictions the guardianship system places on religious freedom for women.

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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].

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