The Qatari government systematically represses unregistered religious groups, including Baha’is, Buddhists, and Hindus. It limits and monitors worship practices for select Shi’a and Sunni Muslims and a few Chrisian denominations. It denies Baha’is residency permits, prosecutes members of the community, and refuses to issue marriage certificates or allocate burial grounds to them. Official curriculum promotes and endorses discrimination against Christians, Jews, nonbelievers, and Shi’a Muslims.
Religious freedom conditions in Libya have significantly deteriorated amid the country’s political fragmentation, as the Tripoli-based government detains and prosecutes those it suspects of atheism, apostasy from Islam, and proselytization for Christianity. Government-linked and independent militias operate across the country, kidnapping and detaining Christian migrants and suspected converts and harassing members of disfavored Muslim communities, such as Sufi and Ibadi Muslims.
Mar 6, 2026
Vietnam’s government strictly regulates and controls religious affairs through state-approved religious organizations. Vietnamese authorities have frequently harassed, detained, arrested, and imprisoned members and advocates of unregistered religious communities that have sought to operate independently of state control. USCIRF’s Victims List documents more than 90 individuals who Vietnamese authorities have detained or imprisoned under national security charges for trying to peacefully practice their faith.
On this episode of the USCIRF Spotlight podcast, Commissioner Rachel Laser speaks with Quynh-Vi Tran, of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam, and the Managing Editor of the Vietnamese Magazine, to discuss Vietnam’s legal system as it relates to freedom of religion or belief.