Additional Name(s): Tsultrim, རིན་ཆེན་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་, 仁青持真
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: China
Ethnic Group: Tibetan
Religion or Belief: Bon
Sentence: 4 Years, 6 Months' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: August/1/2019
Date of Sentencing: November/27/2020
Date of Release: February/1/2024
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: Yes
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Criticizing Religious Freedom Conditions Distributing Religious Materials Online Activity
Nature of Charges: Separatism
Rinchen Tsultrim
Extra Bio Info:
Rinchen Tsultrim was imprisoned for criticizing state policies restricting religious freedom.
On August 1, 2019, security officials in Ngaba (Aba) County, Ngaba (Aba) Tibetan & Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (T&QAP), Sichuan province, detained Tsultrim, a monk, reportedly in relation to posts he made on social media about religious and political issues in Tibet. He was charged with "inciting separatism." After his arrest, Tsultrim's whereabout became unknown.
Prior to his arrest, authorities had shut down Tsultrim's website where he voiced criticism of state policies. He was also being kept under surveillance online and offline, including his distribution of books and scriptures to remote areas of Tibet via the post office, and his phone calls were monitored.
On November 27, 2020, the Aba Intermediate People's Court sentenced Tsultrim to four years and six months in prison for "inciting separatism."
On February 1, 2024, Tsultrim was reportedly released from Mianyang Prison, in Mianyang municipality, Sichuan.
Publicly Available Information:
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"Tibetan monk who criticized China’s policies released from prison" Radio Free Asia (RFA)
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"Rinchen Tsultrim" Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)
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"Reply from China dated 27 August 2021 to OHCHR joint communication [AL CHN 7/2021] of 16 July 2021" Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China
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UN Inquiry Letter into the Detention of Rinchen Tsultrim and Go Sherab Gyatso UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mar 10, 2022
*Special note: This podcast was recorded on March 8, 2022 and only reflects the events that have occurred up to this date*
The Russian government has long used religious freedom violations in its efforts to discourage non-conformity and facilitate its brutal occupation of Crimea and the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine. In 2016, the government adopted a series of legal reforms that enhanced the scope and penalties of religion and anti-extremism laws. These legal reforms also increased State jurisdiction over monitoring private electronic communications for the purpose of rooting out extremists and missionaries in Russia.
Russia’s religious regulation framework has been used to target Jehovah’s Witnesses, Crimean Tatar Muslims, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and other groups that are seen as posing a threat to the State’s authority. What does this mean for the rest of Ukraine now that it’s under attack from Russia? USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst Jason Morton joins us to explain.
Check out our other podcast on this topic: “Religious Implications of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Part 1: The ‘Denazification’ Narrative”
Read USCIRF's report on The Global Persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Read USCIRF report on The Anti-cult Movement and Religious Regulation in Russia and the Former Soviet Union
Read USCIRF's report on Religious Freedom Violations in the Republic of Chechnya
Mar 8, 2022
USCIRF Releases New Report Highlighting Religious Freedom in Iraq
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:
Iraq Country Update – This report examines religious freedom conditions in Iraq over the past year. Specifically, it highlights progress as well as challenges facing religious minority groups including Sunni Arabs, Yazidis, Christians, and nontheists in the country. The report also discusses key U.S. policy engagement with the Iraqi government to help improve conditions for these religious communities.
In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S State Department place Iraq on its Special Watch List (SWL) for engaging in or tolerating severe religious freedom violations. USCIRF also highlighted conditions in Iraq during a virtual event on accountability for crimes against humanity, as well as a hearing on Ending Genocide: Accountability for Perpetrators. The Iraq chapter of the 2021 Annual Report is also available in Kurdish (Sorani and Kurmanji dialects) and Arabic.
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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 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].