FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8, 2019

USCIRF Statement on International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
 

WASHINGTON, DC – In observance of August 9 as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Tony Perkins issued the following statement:

“As we consider the rich heritage of indigenous peoples around the world, we must remember that these communities are sometimes vulnerable to threats to their freedom of religion and belief, even as targets by their own governments. For instance, the Vietnamese government has installed monks affiliated with the Communist Party in Khmer Krom Buddhist temples to control the form of Buddhism practiced there. The Iraqi government has refused to return to Assyrian and Chaldean Christians land illegally expropriated following their displacement by ISIS. Russian authorities continue to kidnap, torture and imprison Crimean Tatar Muslims. And some governments refuse to officially recognize indigenous belief systems, making it difficult for these communities to practice their faiths.

Religion and belief are central to the traditions and ways of life of many indigenous communities around the world. This year’s theme—indigenous languages—underscores how language is deeply embedded in the culture and heritage of a people, including the way they study and observe their beliefs. We call upon all governments to respect the right of indigenous peoples to choose their own religion and belief, and to respect the right of those communities to manage their religious affairs without government interference.”

Information about the world’s worst religious freedom violators and recommendations for U.S. policy can be found in USCIRF’s 2019 Annual Report.

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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] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8, 2019

USCIRF Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee Calls for Release of Religious Prisoner of Conscience Gulmira Imin

WASHINGTON, DC – United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee today called on Chinese authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Gulmira Imin, a Uighur Muslim detained in 2009. Ms. Imin was a web administrator for the Uighur-language website Salkin.

“The extreme and unjust sentence imposed on Gulmira Imin foreshadowed the mass internment and other forms of persecution we see today against Uighur Muslims in China,” said Dorjee, who adopted Gulmira Imin in 2018 as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. “The Chinese government used Ms. Imin as a scapegoat for unrest in Xinjiang rather than reflecting upon the role its repressive policies might have had in fueling discontent. We urge China to release Ms. Imin and the other Uighur Muslims that it has detained because of their religious or cultural identity.”

On July 14, 2009, following Uighur riots in Urumqi in response to the deaths of migrant Uighur workers in Guangdong Province, Ms. Imin was arrested and then was disappeared. The Chinese authorities claimed that she was an organizer of the protests and that she leaked state secrets to her husband in Norway — a charge she denied. On April 1, 2010, the Urumqi Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Ms. Imin to life in prison under Articles 103, 111 and 296 of China’s Criminal Law on charges of “splittism, leaking state secrets and organizing an illegal demonstration.” This sentencing was made public on August 8, 2010, four months after it was handed down.

USCIRF documented China’s abuses against Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others in its 2019 Annual Report. USCIRF recommends that the U.S. government enact targeted sanctions against Chinese officials responsible for these abuses, especially Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang.

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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] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.