Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Pakistan

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Date of Detainment: December/27/2019

Date of Release: November/10/2020

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Texts)

Nature of Charges: Blasphemy

Muhammad Ishaq

Extra Bio Info:

Muhammad Ishaq was detained for blasphemy.

On December 27, 2019, authorities arrested Ishaq and his friend, Shahbaz Masih, and charged them with "desecrating the Qur'an" (Sec. 295-B PPC).  According to reports, the two were accused of burning pages of the Qur'an following an altercation with individuals in the community.

On November 10, 2020, Ishaq was granted bail.

Related Cases: Shahbaz Masih

Publicly Available Information:

Nov 24, 2021

Last month, we released a new report titled “Uzbekistan’s Religious and Political Prisoners: Addressing a Legacy of Repression.” The report estimates that more than 2,000 individuals remain imprisoned by the Uzbekistan government for peacefully practicing their religious beliefs, and documents the cases of 81 specific prisoners, many of whom are serving some of the longest politically-motivated jail sentences in the world.

Steve Swerdlow, the author of the report, and Babur Yusupov, the son of one of the 81 prisoners of conscience listed in the report, join us today to discuss these important findings.

Read the full report on “Uzbekistan’s Religious and Political Prisoners: Addressing a Legacy of Repression.”

 

Follow the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast on  iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, and Google Podcasts to get notifications of our weekly episodes. 

 

 

 

Gender: Male

Current Location: District Jail Jhelum, Jhelum, Punjab

Perpetrator: Pakistan

Religion or Belief: Christian – Unspecified/Other

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Appeal: Rejected

Sentence: Death

Date of Detainment: November/17/2014

Date of Sentencing: December/13/2018

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Figures) Online Activity

Nature of Charges: Blasphemy

Amoon Ayub

Extra Bio Info:

Amoon Ayub is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy.

In November 2014, authorities arrested Ayub and charged him with "insulting the Prophet Muhammad" (Sec. 295-C PPC). Ayub and his brother had previously been accused of publishing content on the internet deemed blasphemous. The brothers fled Pakistan in 2011 due to harassment, but returned in 2012. 

In December 2018, authorities sentenced Ayub and his brother to death. In June 2022, the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench upheld Ayub and his brother's death sentences. 

Publicly Available Information:
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