FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2020

USCIRF Applauds Global Magnitsky Sanctions Against Senior Chinese Officials

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today applauded the U.S. Department of Treasury’s designations under the Global Magnitsky Act and the Department of State’s imposition of visa restrictions on senior Chinese officials responsible for egregious religious freedom violations against Uyghur and other Muslims in Xinjiang.

“For years, USCIRF has called on the administration to impose targeted sanctions against Chen Quanguo, Zhu Hailun, and other senior officials responsible for the Communist Party’s genocidal policies against the Uyghur people.” USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel stated. “Today’s announcements represent a major victory for religious freedom and an important step toward holding Communist China accountable for its crimes against humanity.”

Since 2017, the Chinese government has detained millions of Uyghur, Kazakh, and other Muslims, often targeting individuals engaged in religious practices, such as growing beards or wearing veils. Last week, reports emerged that Chinese authorities had engaged in forced sterilizations and other repressive population control measures against Uyghurs, which USCIRF warned could meet the definition of genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

On July 9, the Treasury Department added the following to the Global Magnitsky Designations List: Chen Quanguo, Communist Party Secretary for Xinjiang; Zhu Hailun, former Political and Legal Affairs Commission Chief; Wang Mingshan, director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau; Huo Liujun former deputy party secretary; and the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau. The State Department visa restrictions bar Chen, Zhu, and Wang, as well as their family members, from entry into the United States. These measures follow the enactment of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which directs the administration to impose financial sanctions and visa bans against Chinese government officials responsible for the persecution of Uyghur and other Muslims.

“The Trump administration’s actions today demonstrates that the United States is prepared to take concrete steps to protect Uyghurs and other religious groups in Communist China,” noted USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “We urge the administration to keep up the pressure by refusing to send U.S. officials to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing unless the Communist Chinese government ceases its war on faith.”

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF called for targeted sanctions against Chen and other Chinese officials. In February 2020, USCIRF released a factsheet explaining how the new Administrative Measures for Religious Groups could further restrict religious freedom.

###

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 threats to 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] or Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USCIRF Releases New Report about Human Rights Advocacy and the North Korea Nuclear Impasse

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:

North Korea Policy Update: Religious freedom conditions in North Korea remain among the worst in the world, yet the U.S. government for decades has tended to prioritize security concerns over human rights rather than integrating the two issues as part of a package. This policy update presents a new approach, loosely modeled on the 1975 Helsinki Accords, that treats U.S. security and human rights objectives as complementary rather than contradictory. USCIRF recommends that U.S. negotiators accept a freeze on North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and missiles—rather than full denuclearization—in return for greater transparency and promises to respect human rights. Such a deal could prevent the security situation on the Korean Peninsula from further deteriorating, while at the same time laying the groundwork for gradual improvements in religious freedom in the country. The policy update highlights applicable lessons from the negotiation and implementation of the Helsinki Accords.

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended the U.S. government to redesignate North Korea as a “country of particular concern” for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act.

USCIRF advocates for the release of Zhang Wen Shi, a Protestant deacon who was kidnapped from China by North Korean agents in November 2014, through the Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.

###

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 threats to 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] or Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USCIRF Troubled by Russia’s Ongoing Imprisonment of Jehovah’s Witness Dennis Christensen

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed concern about the health and wellbeing of Dennis Christensen, a Jehovah’s Witness prisoner of conscience still imprisoned in Russia. Christensen was granted parole on June 23, but USCIRF has learned that prosecutor Aleksei Shatunov subsequently appealed the decision. Christensen will remain in prison while a new hearing is scheduled, which could take weeks.

Christensen has been eligible for early release for a year, due to time served in pre-trial detention, and his health has noticeably deteriorated in custody. He has already contracted pneumonia once during his time in prison, and his pulmonary health remains a serious concern amid the continuing threat of COVID-19. Unless his parole is upheld, Christensen is scheduled to remain in prison until May 25, 2022.

“USCIRF urges the Russian government to show clemency. The ongoing imprisonment of Dennis Christensen is truly unconscionable. This man has already forfeited his freedom for exercising his peaceful religious beliefs; it would be an atrocity for him to forfeit his life. Russia must free Mr. Christensen immediately,” said USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin, who advocates for Dennis Christensen through the Commission’s Religious Prisoner of Conscience project.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses report that 10 of its members are currently imprisoned in Russia, while 24 are in pretrial detention, and 24 are under house arrest.

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. government designate Russia as a “country of particular concern” for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.

###

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 threats to 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] or Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].