Additional Name(s): 孙志芬
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: China
Religion or Belief: Falun Gong
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Sentence: 10 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: June/25/2018
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Sun Zhifen
Extra Bio Info:
Sun Zhifen is imprisoned for her religious activity.
On June 25, 2018, authorities in Yingze district, Taiyuan municipality, Shanxi province, arrested Sun in her apartment. Her arrest coincided with the arrest of seven other Falun Gong practitioners in Taiyuan.
On an unspecified day in 2019, the Yingze District People’s Court sentenced Sun to ten years in prison.
Related Cases: Wang Suping, Tian Yuqin, Luo Baojun, Zhang Qingxiang
Publicly Available Information:
- "Sun Zhifen" Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: India
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: November/22/2021
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Human Rights Work for Religious Communities
Nature of Charges: Criminal Premeditation & Conspiracy Illicit Financing Terrorism Treason & Sedition
Khurram Parvez
Extra Bio Info:
Khurram Parvez is detained for his religious freedom advocacy.
In November 2021, authorities arrested Parvez, a Muslim human rights advocate in Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state. Parvez was critical of the ruling Bhatiya Janata Party and its various human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances and threats to religious freedom. He was charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) reportedly on allegations of “terrorism funding, being a member of a terrorist organization, criminal conspiracy, and waging war against the state.” Human rights organizations allege Parvez’s arrest is motivated by his work documenting human rights violations committed by authorities in Kashmir, a Muslim-majority area.
Publicly Available Information:
- "India: UN expert demands immediate end to crackdown on Kashmiri human rights defenders" UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
- USCIRF Annual Report 2022: India
- “Comment by UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Rupert Colville on arrest of human rights defender Khurram Parvez and recent killings in Indian Administered Kashmir” UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
- “India: Kashmiri Activist Held Under Abusive Law” Human Rights Watch
- “India arrests prominent human rights activist in Kashmir amid clampdown” Washington Post
- “Khurram Parvez: Kashmiri rights activist arrested under anti-terror law” British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Dec 3, 2021
USCIRF Releases New Report on Religious Freedom Violations in Turkey
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:
Turkey Country Update – In 2021, religious freedom conditions in Turkey have remained poor. The Turkish government has continued to carry out actions, deliberate inactions, and rhetoric to fuel a political environment that is hostile to religious minorities. Little effort has been made to address key religious freedom issues, including granting minority religious communities legal personality and permission to hold board member elections, recognizing Alevi houses of worship, and re-opening the Theological School of Halki—a seminary of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Government tolerance of hate speech and acts of violence persisted in Turkey throughout 2021, which are noted in this report.
In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State include Turkey on its Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom. USCIRF has also highlighted several religious freedom concerns in Turkey on the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, such as the continued closure of the Halki Seminary and Turkey’s persecution of the Alevi community.
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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].