Dec 16, 2025
Pakistan’s Ahmadiyya Muslim community continues to be severely and systematically persecuted by the government. The Pakistani government has enacted a series of discriminatory laws and ordinances that restrict Ahmadiyya Muslims’ ability to observe their faith, including identifying as Muslim. In the first half of 2025, spikes in targeted violence against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan have contributed to a growing climate of fear. Authorities have increasingly prevented Ahmadiyya Muslims from sacrificing animals during Eid and have conducted “preventative arrests” ahead of the religious holiday.
On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schenck speaks with Amjad Khan, a lawyer and spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA, on the current situation for Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan.
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Nicaragua
Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant
Date of Detainment: May/15/2022
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Efrén Antonio Vílchez López
Extra Bio Info:
Efrén Antonio Vílchez López is imprisoned for his religious activity and leadership role.
On May 15, 2022, Nicaraguan authorities beat and detained Vílchez López, a well-known cross-denominational organizer affiliated with the International Missionary Centre Chapel of the Spirit. Authorities charged him with rape, a common tactic for attacking religious leaders in Nicaragua.
On September 21, 2022, Judge Edén Enrique Aguilar Castro sentenced Vílchez López to 23 years' imprisonment after the court refused to consider evidence of his innocence. Vílchez López, a diabetic, has been denied daily insulin, which resulted in his hospitalization.
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Christian – Unspecified/Other
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Aida Najaflou
Extra Bio Info:
Aida Najaflou is imprisoned for her religious conversion and activity.
In February 2025, Iranian authorities arrested Aida, a Christian convert, along with four other Christians for evangelism, prayer, and celebrating Christmas.
On October 21, 2025, Judge Abolqasem Salavati sentenced her to 17 years' imprisonment for “propaganda against the regime” and “acting against national security.” Najaflou, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, cracked her T12 vertebrae from falling out of her top bunk in prison after her request for a lower bunk due to her health condition was denied.