FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2018

USCIRF Commissioner Nadine Maenza to Advocate for Imprisoned Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi

Commissioner Maenza recently visited Saudi Arabia as part of a USCIRF delegation

WASHINGTON, DC — Nadine Maenza, a commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today announced her adoption of Raif Badawi, to advocate for his release, as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience.

Raif Badawi is a Saudi blogger who edited the online forum Free Saudi Liberals. He was detained in 2012 on blasphemy charges. In 2014, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes. He received the first 50 lashes publicly in January 2015 outside a mosque in Jeddah. Although he was to receive 50 lashes in the same setting each week, a medical doctor determined he could not physically endure more lashings. Following international outcry, future lashings have been postponed.

“I feel privileged to be able to advocate for Raif Badawi,” said Maenza. “He started one of his banned blog posts by saying, ‘Freedom of speech is the air that any thinker breathes; it’s the fuel that ignites the fire of an intellectual’s thoughts.’ The only ‘crime’ this thoughtful young man ever committed was exercising this right – which everyone, everywhere should be able to do without fearing reprisals from the state. We need more people like Raif Badawi - willing to question the establishment and encourage the peaceful exchange of ideas.

“I had the opportunity to visit Saudi Arabia recently as part of a USCIRF delegation. While I saw some positive changes and met earnest people working to open up the country, there has been no movement towards freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. With the world watching, now would be the perfect time for the Kingdom to expand these rights.

“I would respectfully ask King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to release Raif Badawi so that he may rejoin his wife and young children. This would go far towards showing the international community that they are serious about reforms and opening up the Kingdom to foreign investment and travel.

“Until he is released, Raif’s detention as a prisoner of conscience will continue to draw international attention to the serious religious freedom violations in Saudi Arabia. I am committed to taking every opportunity to advocate for Raif’s Badawi until he is released.”

In 2015, Raif Badawi received the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. USCIRF has repeatedly called for his release since he was imprisoned, including through a 2015 letter to King Salman urging Badawi’s release.

USCIRF again recommended this year that Saudi Arabia be designated as a “country of particular concern” for systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom. Although the State Department has designated Saudi Arabia a CPC since 2004, in 2006 it placed an indefinite waiver on taking any action as a consequence of the CPC designation. USCIRF continues to urge the U.S. government to lift the waiver.

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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 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 Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2018
 

Burma Not Safe for Returning Rohingyas, Warns USCIRF

WASHINGTON, DC — Responding to the recent announcement by the governments of Burma and Bangladesh that repatriation efforts for Rohingya Muslim refugees will begin next month, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga, who visited Burma last year, cited evidence of continued atrocities committed by the Buddhist-majority Burma as one of several reasons the announcement is premature. An estimated 921,000 Rohingya refugees currently reside in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, many of whom fled brutal violence in Burma at the hands of Burma’s military and other nonstate actors.

“Not only have Rohingya Muslims received no assurance of their physical safety when they return to Burma,” said Arriaga, “but there have been no guarantees of protection for their properties, livelihoods or basic human rights, including religious freedom.  While we support continued negotiations between the two countries, there is still much to be done before it is safe for these refugees to return to their homeland in a manner that is both dignified and voluntary.”

USCIRF has called on the State Department to redesignate Burma as a “country of particular concern” and to continue to impose targeted sanctions, such as visa bans and asset freezes, on specific abusers in the Burmese military and among nonstate actors.

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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 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 or belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 31, 2018

USCIRF Welcomes Pakistani Supreme Court’s Decision to Overturn Death Sentence Against Asia Bibi

WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the decision by Pakistan’s Supreme Court to overturn the death sentence handed down in 2010 against Asia Bibi, a Roman Catholic mother of five. Following a 2009 accusation of blasphemy, Bibi was convicted and handed down a death sentence—a decision upheld by the Lahore High Court. Her execution was stayed following an appeal to the Supreme Court. Partly because of their defense of Bibi, two Pakistani government officials—Shahbaz Bhatti, a cabinet member, and Salmaan Taseer, the then governor of Punjab—were murdered in 2011.

USCIRF Chair Tenzin Dorjee said, “The case of Asia Bibi illustrates the extent to which blasphemy laws can be exploited to target minority communities. These laws seek to protect entire religions rather than the individual, as should be the case under international human rights standards. It is deeply troubling that Bibi’s case even reached this level, where she almost became the first person in Pakistan’s history to be executed for the crime of blasphemy.”

In anticipation of the likelihood of an outbreak of social unrest following this decision, USCIRF urges Pakistani authorities to ensure Asia Bibi’s safety upon her release. And while USCIRF welcomes this decision, it again calls on the government of Pakistan to release the 40 individuals imprisoned on blasphemy charges and to repeal its blasphemy laws. Among the imprisoned is Abdul Shakoor, an 80-year-old Ahmadi bookseller for whom USCIRF is advocating through its Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.

Every year since 2002, USCIRF has recommended that Pakistan be designated as a “country of particular concern” for “ongoing, systematic, egregious violations of religious freedom.” USCIRF has also called for the use of tools such as the denial of visas and the freezing of assets against specific individuals who have participated in or have been responsible for severe 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 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 Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.