Open Letter from USCIRF Vice Chair Sandra Jolley to Gulmira Imin on the 8th Anniversary of Her Arrest

Dear Gulmira:

I write to you as July 14^th comes to an end.  On that day eight years ago, as you know all too well, Chinese government officials arrested you.  While this open letter may never reach you, I want you to know that as a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, I am ardently advocating on your behalf.  Whenever I look at the face of my daughter, who is only a few months older than you, I think of the injustice of your imprisonment and feel my resolve grow even stronger to help see that you are released.

You are in prison unjustly, serving a life sentence on false charges of “splittism,” leaking state secrets, and organizing an illegal demonstration.  Your only “crime” is being a young leader of the Uighur Muslim community who, along with other members of your community, peacefully protested the deaths of Uighur migrant workers in Guangdong Province. Your family was not even notified of your arrest.  They feared that you had been killed until they saw you in prison garb in a TV documentary about the demonstrations.

I am deeply concerned about the Chinese government’s increasing restrictions on members of the Uighur Muslim community.  These restrictions reflect a tragically wrong and flawed policy. Instead of respecting Uighur Muslims’ freedom of religion or belief, the government unacceptably represses your community, targeting many under the rubric of countering what it alleges to be religious and other violent extremism.  Instead of welcoming you into a pluralistic fabric of Chinese community life, the government marginalizes, persecutes, and represses you and other Uighur Muslims.

As I advocate for your freedom, I think of my own family and community and the agony I would feel if I were separated from them.  Gulmira, I hope you stay strong.  I am committed to working on your behalf so that you can be reunited with your family and community. I look forward to the day when you are free.

With deepest respect,

Sandra Jolley

Sandra Jolley is the Vice Chair at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).

USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project highlights the plight of individuals who have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs, practices or identity.

Click here to watch Vice Chair Jolley’s statement in support of Gulmira Imin.

Click here to see coverage from The Economist on USCIRF's press release. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 5, 2017

CHINA: USCIRF Condemns Ramadan Restrictions in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region

“The Chinese government has taken unprecedented steps to trample on the religious freedom of Uighur Muslims”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Muslims around the world recently marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan.  The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the Chinese government’s restrictions on Uighur Muslims’ religious practice during Ramadan in the autonomous region of Xinjiang.

“The Chinese government has taken unprecedented steps to trample on the religious freedom of Uighur Muslims particularly during Ramadan,” said USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark. “Chinese Communist Party officials were assigned to live in the homes of Uighur families in Xinjiang to prevent them from fasting and praying. This new level of control is yet another example of the Chinese government’s unacceptable repression of Uighur Muslims.  We call on Beijing to abide by its international human rights commitments and cease its harassment of religious communities.”

The Chinese government continues to suppress Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, often under the guise of countering what it alleges to be religious and other violent extremism. Other recent alarming developments include: new regulations prohibiting face-covering veils and beards; a ban on “extreme” Islamic baby names; and the confiscation of Uighur Muslims’ passports and Qur’ans.

Uighur Muslims also continue to receive unfair trails and are harshly treated in prison. USCIRF Vice Chair, Sandra Jolley, is advocating on behalf of Uighur Muslim Gulmira Imin, as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. Ms. Imin, a website administrator and Uighur advocate, was sentenced in May 2010 to life imprisonment on charges of splittism (undermining the unity of the state), organizing an illegal demonstration, and leaking state secrets.

“Eight years ago today, July 5, 2009, Uighurs gathered in Urumqi to peacefully protest the Chinese government’s treatment of their people.  The protests were met with police violence and a number of arrests and deaths occurred.  Gulmira Imin was arrested in connection with these riots and her harsh sentence is yet another example of the government’s persistent targeting of Uighur Muslims,” said Vice Chair Jolley. “The Chinese government should immediately release Gulmira Imin, prominent Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti, and all other prisoners of conscience.”

Click here to see Vice Chair Jolley’s statement in support of Gulmira Imin.

USCIRF again recommended in 2017 that China be designated as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, for systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. The State Department has designated China as a CPC since 1999, most recently in 2016. For more information, please see USCIRF’s China chapter in the 2017 Annual Report (in English and Chinese).

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).

SUDAN:  USCIRF Urges Secretary of State to Maintain Sanctions

“Sudan has not shown sufficient progress on allowing greater religious freedom”

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a May 30 letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calling on him to “take steps to address severe violations of religious freedom and other human rights” in Sudan.  In the letter below, USCIRF called on Secretary Tillerson to maintain existing sanctions on the Sudanese government due to deteriorating religious freedom conditions.

Current U.S. sanctions on Sudan will be lifted by July 12, 2017 if the Secretary of State determines that the Sudanese government "has sustained the positive actions" in lessening military hostilities, increasing access to humanitarian assistance, and cooperating with the United States on regional conflicts and counterterrorism.

USCIRF is concerned that one important factor missing in this determination is the status of religious freedom in Sudan.

USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark stated that “USCIRF believes that these sanctions should remain in place.  Sudan has not shown sufficient progress on allowing greater religious freedom.  Religious leaders continue to be arrested and convicted on spurious charges; churches have been demolished; and a range of laws against apostasy, blasphemy, and undefined ‘offences of honor’ remain in force.” Daniel Mark was elected as USCIRF’s Chairman on June 13, 2017.

The U.S. government imposed sanctions on Sudan in 1997 and 2006, in part, due to the Sudanese government’s gross human rights violations, including “the denial of religious freedom,” which remain in place today.  An Executive Order in January by then President Barack Obama directed the sanctions be lifted if the Secretary of State determines that the Sudanese government “has sustained the positive actions” on the topics listed above. This determination does not require an evaluation of progress, or lack thereof, on human rights or religious freedom.

Chairman Mark added, “The United States certainly should recognize positive developments on a range of issues, but Sudan has not ‘sustained positive actions’ with regard to religious freedom, and the sanctions should stay in place.”

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world. USCIRF reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the Congressional leadership of both political parties. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).

Click here to read a PDF version of the letter sent to Secretary Tillerson.