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February 6, 2015 | USCIRF

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commends President Obama for deepening relations with India while also recognizing religious freedom concerns during his three-day trip to the country in late January, concerns he reiterated at the February 5 National Prayer Breakfast.  On both occasions, the President highlighted how India’s success is dependent on not being “splintered along the lines of religious faith” and “in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs -- acts of intolerance that would have shocked Gandhiji, the person who helped to liberate that nation.”

“President Obama’s timely comments underscore the importance of India getting religious freedom right,” said USCIRF Chair Katrina Lantos Swett.  “This is a challenge that India must and can address, given its diversity and long history of democratic values.  India’s history includes both Article 25 of its constitution – which provides for freedom of conscience and the free profession, practice, and propagation of religion – and its international commitments.  India can meet this challenge by protecting religious minorities and holding accountable the perpetrators of religiously-motivated harassment, intimidation and violence,” concluded Lantos Swett.

The President’s concerns come at a time of increasing abuses against India’s minority religious communities.  Hindu nationalist groups, such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have assaulted these communities and forced community members to convert.  In just the last three months, five churches were attacked in Delhi; Hindu nationalists reportedly forcibly converted Christians and Muslims; and a mob of more than 5,000 people attacked the majority-Muslim village of Azizpur, Bihar, killing three Muslims and setting about 25 houses on fire.  In addition, on February 5, police detained hundreds of Christians demonstrating against attacks on churches in New Delhi, including John Dayal, a human rights activist, who testified on April 4, 2014 before the Tom Lantos Commission on “The Plight of Religious Minorities in India.”

“India is one of the United States’ most important partners,” continued Lantos Swett.  “It is the world’s largest democracy with nearly 1.22 billion people, a deeply pluralistic society, and the birthplace of numerous religions.  This society includes the world’s third-largest Muslim population and a Christian population larger than several European countries.  Our two nations share many values, and upholding religious freedom must be one of them,” Lantos Swett said.

Since 2009 USCIRF designated India as a Tier 2 country, noting since 2014 increased communal and religiously-motivated attacks and slow and ineffective redress for victims of past incidents, leading to a culture of impunity.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or 202-786-0613.

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February 3, 2015 | USCIRF

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commends the release of activist Dr. Tun Aung and urges the government of Burma to release other prisoners of conscience in fulfillment of the promises of President Thein Sein. 

“USCIRF welcomes the release of Dr. Tun Aung from Burmese custody,” said USCIRF Chair Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett.  “However, we continue to advocate for the unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience from Burma’s jails and urge authorities to act promptly in fulfilling President Thein Sein’s pledge to release all political prisoners by the end of 2013, a promise yet to be realized. In fact, over the last year, more people have been jailed for the peaceful expression of their beliefs.”

USCIRF had been working in conjunction with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International USA through the Defending Freedoms Project to gain the release of Dr. Tun Aung and now for the release of Ko Htin Kyaw, Ko Tin Maung Kyi, and Ko Zaw Win. 

The Defending Freedoms Project, created in 2013, partners with Members of Congress to increase support and attention to cases of prisoners of conscience worldwide.  Representative Aaron Schock (R-IL) had adopted Dr. Tun Aung and worked diligently for his release.

The January 19 release of Dr. Tun Aung followed mounting pressure from the international community for the activist’s release.  Dr. Tun Aung, a respected medical doctor and leader among the Rohingya Muslim community, was arrested in 2012 after attempting to pacify an angry crowd of rioters involving both Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims.  The Burmese government blamed him for the resulting violence due to his status as a community leader, and detained him.  Following an unfair trial, he subsequently was sentenced to 17 years behind bars in Burma’s notorious Insein Prison.

“Dr. Tun Aung’s case is not unique,” said Lantos Swett.  “There are countless prisoners of conscience who remain languishing in Burmese jails, and USCIRF is particularly concerned about the continued detention of human rights defenders Ko Htin Kyaw, Ko Tin Maung Kyi, and Ko Zaw Win from the Movement for Democracy Current Force, a peaceful human rights organization operating in Burma.  They were imprisoned in 2014 for peacefully protesting restrictions on expression and assembly.”

Read more on USCIRF’s work on Burma.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or 202-786-0613.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

February 3, 2015 | By Katrina Lantos Swett & M. Zuhdi Jasser

The following op-ed appeared in The Huffington Post on February 3, 2015

What did the terrorist attacks against the Charlie Hebdo newspaper and the kosher supermarket in Paris share with the flogging of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi in Jeddah last month? Each was an assault on freedom of conscience, religion, or belief. Moreover, in the Charlie Hebdo and Badawi cases, those responsible denied their victims the right to speak freely about religion because, in their view, such critics are blasphemers who insult religion and must be punished.

People naturally should try to do their utmost to honor and uphold each other's inherent dignity as fellow human beings and respect their most cherished beliefs. But when this laudable idea is rejected by a demand that perceived transgressors be silenced by force -- including even murder and torture -- rather than engaged through debate and discussion, the line has been crossed from freedom to coercion.

As the Badawi case illustrates, it is not just private individuals and groups which cross that line. Governments also label and punish certain speech by enforcing blasphemy laws, some of which carry the death penalty. In so doing, they embolden citizens to commit bloodshed against alleged blasphemers.

In the face of this assault on human rights and dignity, the world community must confront these abusive laws and the horrific acts they unleash, pressing offending nations to repeal these statutes and release people imprisoned because of them.

As Badawi can attest, one such nation is Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom enthrones its own interpretation of Sunni Islam and bans the public expression of any other religious belief. Dissenters may be charged with offenses ranging from apostasy to blasphemy.

Badawi founded and edited the Free Saudi Liberals website, a forum for the free expression of diverse political and religious views. The government arrested him in June 2012, charging him with apostasy and "insulting Islam." While in January 2013, a Saudi court dropped the apostasy charge, it sentenced him in July 2013 to 600 lashes and seven years in prison on other charges and ordered that his web site be shut down. Last May, an appeals court increased the sentence to 10 years and the number of lashes to 1,000, or 50 lashes weekly for 20 consecutive weeks. Badawi's latest flogging has been postponed and the Saudi high court is reviewing his case.

While Saudi Arabia punishes dissenters from its interpretation of Sunni Islam, Iran does likewise to those it deems to threaten its own brand of Shi'a Islam. Muslims, including Shi'a dissenters, and non-Muslims including Baha'is and Christians, who have been jailed, tortured, and executed for "insulting Islam" or "waging war against God."

But when it comes to the application of blasphemy provisions, no nation is more zealous than Pakistan. While these laws largely target Muslims and carry the death penalty or life in prison, they disproportionately impact religious minority communities. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, on which we serve, knows of at least 17 Pakistanis on death row and 19 more serving life sentences for blasphemy, with many more awaiting trial.

Pakistan's blasphemy statutes also fan the flames of skyrocketing sectarian violence and provide extremist groups and vigilantes fuel to unleash terror, especially against minorities, with impunity.

No Pakistanis are safe from these laws, not even government officials. In 2011, Shabbaz Bhatti -- Pakistan's minority religious affairs minister and a Christian, and Salmaan Taseer -- the governor of Punjab province and a Muslim, were assassinated for opposing these laws. Reacting to mere allegations of blasphemy, mobs recently lynched a Christian man and his pregnant wife, while a policeman used an axe to kill a Shi'a in custody.

Clearly, the world community must respond to these abuses.

In March 2011, the United States and like-minded countries blocked efforts at the United Nations to internationalize blasphemy prohibitions, defeating an initiative that promoted an international legal norm against the so-called "defamation of religions." Instead, a framework that promotes tolerance, understanding, and community engagement replaced that flawed concept.

It is time to show similar resolve today by pressing nations to repeal their blasphemy laws and challenging leaders to promote cultures of tolerance and mutual respect.

It is particularly important for free nations to repeal their own codes. Several European countries, from Austria to Greece, Ireland to Poland, still have blasphemy laws on the books. Repealing them would send the right message.

Finally, the world should press for the release of Raif Badawi and other blasphemy-law victims. While many Western governments condemned Badawi's flogging and urged that his case be reviewed, which reports suggest is now happening, none have called for his unconditional release.

Let the message be clear: Don't quash speech that belittles or offends. Fight such speech with more speech -- speech that ennobles. Honor freedom of expression and religion by repealing all blasphemy laws.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or 202-786-0613.