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/10/2014
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
Qaisar Ayub
Extra Bio Info:
Qaisar 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:
- "Court upholds death sentence of two accused" Dawn
- The Voiceless Victims of Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws International Christian Concern (ICC)
- USCIRF Annual Report 2019: Pakistan
- "Qaisar and Amoon Ayub" Coalition Against Misuse of the Blasphemy Laws
- "PAKISTAN: Two Christian brothers sentenced to death for blasphemy" Church In Chains
Dec 07
Dec 7th 10:00am
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Dec 7th 11:00am
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
USCIRF Conversation: Democracy and Religious Freedom
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
10:00 – 11:00 AM ET
Virtual Event
Please join the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for a virtual event about the intersection between democracy and religious freedom.
As the Biden administration prepares to host its first Summit for Democracy, this event will highlight ongoing religious freedom issues facing two of the largest democracies in the world: India and Indonesia. Focusing on these case studies, the event will explore barriers these countries are facing in realizing full protection for freedom of religion and belief.
In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that India be designated a Country of Particular Concern and Indonesia be placed on the U.S. Department of State’s Special Watch List. The Indian government has continued to implement policies that stifle civil society and pose severe challenges to freedom of religion or belief. Since Indonesia’s transition to democracy in 1998, blasphemy allegations have proliferated across the archipelago and the country enforces many laws and regulations that hinder faith communities from operating and building houses of worship.
USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza and Commissioner Khizr Khan will be joined by guest panelists John Sifton of Human Rights Watch and Robert Hefner of Boston University. USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava will moderate the conversation followed by questions and answers from attendees.
Panelists
- Nadine Maenza, Chair, USCIRF
- Khizr Khan, Commissioner, USCIRF
- John Sifton, Asia Advocacy Directory, Human Rights Watch
- Robert Hefner, Professor of Anthropology and Global Affairs, Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University
- Anurima Bhargava, Commissioner, USCIRF
This virtual event is open to the public and media. The video recording will be posted on the Commission website. For any additional questions, please contact [email protected].
Nov 23, 2021
USCIRF Releases New Report on Religious Freedom Violations in Belarus
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following report on religious freedom violations in Belarus:
Belarus Country Update – Religious freedom conditions in the Eastern European country of Belarus have deteriorated dramatically amidst a brutal government crackdown on civil society following widespread anti-government protests starting in August 2020. Since then, the regime of Alexander Lukashenko has purged Catholic and Orthodox Christian clergy critical of his authoritarian tactics, raided Catholic and Protestant worship services, and publicly promoted anti-Semitic conspiracies and rhetoric.
USCIRF has long monitored religious freedom conditions in Belarus, and discussed the deterioration in its 2021 Annual Report and USCIRF Spotlight podcast. This report anticipates important discussions about the U.S. policy response to the assault on Belarusian civil society, which includes significant violations of religious freedom.
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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].