FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 3, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) this week marks the two-year anniversary of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s assumption of office by repeating its call to improve conditions for freedom of religion or belief in Iran.  USCIRF also condemns the detention of prisoners of conscience, and calls for their immediate release.

“Two years have passed since President Rouhani assumed office, and for two years he has failed on his promise to improve the climate for religious freedom, particularly for religious minority communities.  In fact, the situation for religious minority groups – including Baha’is, Christians, and Sufi Muslims – remains dire, as it does for dissenting Shi’a and Sunni Muslims. The Iranian government aggressively persecutes Baha’is, whom it considers heretics not worthy of legal protections. Authorities recently closed dozens of Baha’i-owned businesses, further impoverishing this marginalized and persecuted community.  In addition, Christian church services continue to be raided and worshippers arrested, and dissenting Muslims continue to be imprisoned and tortured,” said USCIRF Chairman Robert P. George.

At least 350 religious prisoners of conscience remain in Iranian prisons, including about 150 Sunni Muslims, more than 100 Baha’is, some 90 Christians, and a dozen Sufis. These include: Pastor Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor and U.S. citizen; Behnam Irani, an evangelical Christian leader; Ayatollah Mohammed Kazemeini Boroujerdi, a dissident Shi’a Muslim cleric; and members of the Baha’i community, including the Baha’i Seven (Afif Naemimi, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Vahid Tizfahm, Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Sabet, and Saeid Rezaie).  These individuals are included in the Defending Freedoms Project, an initiative of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, in conjunction with USCIRF and Amnesty International USA.  Through this project, Members of Congress advocate in support of prisoners of conscience, shine a light on the laws and policies that have led to their imprisonment, and help hold governments accountable.

“Since August 2013, an increasing number of members of religious minority communities languish in prison solely because of their beliefs,” said George.  “The United States and other governments must continue to speak out publicly and frequently at the highest levels about the severe religious freedom abuses in Iran and hold accountable those Iranian government agencies and officials who are culpable for severe violations of religious freedom by continuing to freeze their assets and refuse them visas.”

USCIRF has recommended, and the State Department has designated, Iran as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) since 1999 for the Iranian government’s systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom. For more recommendations, see USCIRF’s 2015 Annual Report. 

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact Travis Horne at [email protected] or 202-786-0615.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

July 27, 2015 | By: M. Zuhdi Jasser and Katrina Lantos Swett

The following op-ed appeared in The Moscow Times on July 26, 2015

How will Europe's human rights court respond to a government that treats a pacifist religious group as a dangerous extremist cell? The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will answer that question this summer when it rules on whether Russia's prosecution of Jehovah's Witnesses under its extremism law criminalizes freedom of religion or belief.

A ruling against the Kremlin could be a landmark decision for Russia, affecting not only Jehovah's Witnesses. From Muslims to dissenting members of the Moscow Patriarchate Russian Orthodox Church (MPROC), other Russians are also caught in the wide net cast by this overly broad law.

Under the extremism law, religious material is banned throughout Russia once a higher court upholds a lower court ruling that it is "extremist." Convicted individuals face up to four years in prison. As of this June, Russia's list of banned materials reached 2,859 items, having started in 2007 with 15 items.

The ECHR is reviewing 22 cases of Russian court bans of 72 Jehovah's Witness texts, including a children's book called "My Book of Bible Stories."

Russia enacted its extremism law in 2002, just months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. Two of the law's provisions defined religious extremism as promoting the "exclusivity, superiority, or lack of equal worth of an individual" and "incitement of religious discord" in connection with acts or threats of violence.

How did these provisions allow Russia to target Jehovah's Witnesses or other peaceful religious minorities?

Officials began to interpret the first provision as promoting the superiority of a belief rather than an individual, contrary to the text's plain meaning. And in 2007, Russia amended the law to allow prosecution for inciting religious discord even in the absence of any threat or act of violence.

Since every group believes its own dogma to be in some sense superior, any group could face an extremism charge. And since inciting "religious discord" is no longer linked to advocating or perpetrating violence, those advocating religious views face potential criminal charges of incitement.

But in practice, the Russian authorities selectively target certain religious groups, including Jehovah's Witnesses. In August 2013, Russia even banned the group's international website — the only nation to do so. In early 2014, a regional court overturned this ruling.

And it was not until May 2015 that the Russian Justice Ministry allowed the Jehovah's Witnesses to operate as a legal community in Moscow — five years after the ECHR ruled against Russia's refusal to do so.

But it is Russia's 20 million Muslims who are targeted the most by the application of the new law, with Muslims sentenced to prison terms despite engaging in peaceful observances and activities.

A court in 2007 banned the Russian translations of 14 Quran commentaries by Turkish theologian Said Nursi due to his asserting Islam's superiority. Five years later, in response to an Orenburg court's ban of 65 Muslim texts issued "by literally all Islamic publishers in Russia," the Council of Muftis protested that this ruling constituted "the revival of total ideological control" reminiscent of the Soviet era.

Although a local court partially overturned this ban earlier this year, it still is unclear what this ruling means in practice. The Council of Muftis is appealing this ban to the ECHR. In September 2013, the Novorossiisk District Court even banned a translation of the Quran itself and ordered its destruction, a ruling that fortunately was overturned three months later.

So why is Moscow targeting these groups?

Russia believes they threaten national security; the Kremlin includes in this term cultural as well as physical threats to the Russian state. It considers the MPROC the nation's chief cultural and religious embodiment and views certain other religious groups as competitors and dangers to Russia's unity. So when Jehovah's Witnesses or Muslims assert different religious views, officials insist Russia is somehow harmed.

But the opposite is the case. With some 185 officially recognized ethnic groups, Russia is far from being a cultural, religious or ethnic monolith. To combat this diversity by suppressing minority religions promises more — not less — chaos and conflict.

Advancing the myth of a monolithic Russian culture by repressing religious minorities also clearly violates the internationally recognized right to freedom of religion or belief. This repression is a major factor driving the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, on which we serve, to designate Russia a serious religious freedom abuser. In March of last year, the European Union reiterated its strong opposition to the law.

Now the ball rests in the European Court of Human Rights. A ruling in favor of the Jehovah's Witnesses will be the latest call to improve both freedom and security in Russia.

M. Zuhdi Jasser is vice chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Katrina Lantos Swett is a USCIRF commissioner.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or 202-786-0613.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 17, 2015 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Hundreds of people have been killed in Boko Haram terrorist attacks throughout northern Nigeria and in sectarian violence in the Middle Belt during the past two months. The July 20 meeting in Washington D.C. between President Barack Obama and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari offers both nations the opportunity to reinvigorate their commitment to, and develop initiatives that would, help curb both types of violence.  

“We are extremely concerned by Boko Haram’s senseless killing of innocent people, the targeting of worshippers, and the destruction of houses of worship,” said USCIRF Chairman Robert P. George.  “This increase in violence has left more than 300 dead since the beginning of July and is a stark reminder that Boko Haram is a destabilizing force in Nigeria and the region.”

Presidents Buhari and Obama will be discussing ways to tackle Nigeria’s multiple security, corruption, and development challenges. “USCIRF welcomes the Administration’s calls for the Nigerian government to comprehensively address these challenges.  We urge that these discussions focus on improving civilian security from  Boko Haram’s attacks and the long-standing herder-farmer sectarian violence.  Such discussion should urge the Nigerian government to respect human rights during military and police responses and ensure justice for victims.  Addressing the issues of radicalization, northern socio-economic disparities, land conflicts, displacement, and reconciliation also are crucial to helping ensure security and ending the violence,” said George.       

USCIRF has documented an increase in Boko Haram attacks since the start of Ramadan.  Of particular concerns are the attacks on houses of worship, including: three mosques attacked in early July that killed more than 150 people in Borno and Plateau states Eid al-Fitr celebrations bombed on July 16 in Damaturu and Gombe that killed at least 60; 32 churches burned on July 5 in Borno; the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Potiskum bombed, also on July 5, with 5 people killed, including the priest; and the ECWA church in Jos attempted bombing on July 12.  In addition to the Boko Haram attacks, hundreds more have been killed since Buhari’s election this past April in violence by predominately Muslim herders against predominately Christian farmers throughout the Middle Belt.

USCIRF has recommended since 2009 that Nigeria be designated a “country of particular concern” for systemic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.  A USCIRF delegation’s visit to Abuja and Kaduna from May 9 through May 16 reinforced these concerns which include Boko Haram’s terrorist attacks against Christians and Muslims, recurring sectarian violence, and escalating interfaith tensions.  While the Nigerian federal government does not engage in religious persecution, it fails to implement effective strategies to prevent or stop terrorism or sectarian violence and does not bring to justice those responsible for such violence.  The Nigerian government’s almost exclusively military approach to Boko Haram contributes to ongoing terrorism in the country.  Boko Haram exploits sectarian fissures to manipulate religious tensions and destabilize Nigeria. 

For more information, see the Nigeria Chapter in USCIRF’s 2015 Annual Report.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or 202-786-0613.