FOR YOUR INFORMATION

June 3, 2015 | Katrina Lantos Swett and Mary Ann Glendon

The following op-ed appeared in The National Interest on June 3, 2015

A court in Afghanistan recently sentenced eleven police officers to one-year jail terms for failing to stop a mob in March from lynching Farkhunda, a Kabul woman falsely accused of burning a Quran. Four men earlier had been convicted of and sentenced to death for her murder. If such justice is possible even in Afghanistan, hardly a bastion of protection for religious freedom and other human rights, why not in neighboring Pakistan? Why is there rarely any accountability in Pakistan for killing people accused of blasphemy? Why are law enforcement officials not held responsible for failing to apprehend the killers? And what, if anything, can the United States and the world community do about it?

We visited Pakistan in March as members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). There we met with high-level officials including National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz, the Minister of Interior Secretary, the Minister for Religious Affairs, and the Attorney General, as well as madrassa leaders and religious minorities. We repeatedly saw how, in a number of ways, Pakistan’s blasphemy law and related statutes remain a serious and growing problem, how religious minorities bear the brunt of it, and how the greatest casualty is Pakistan’s founding heritage of respect for religious freedom and diversity.  

The blasphemy law on its face flatly violates both freedom of religion and freedom of expression. Worse still, Pakistan vigorously applies this law. Nearly forty Pakistanis are on death row or serving life sentences for blasphemy, a statistic unmatched anywhere in the world.  Moreover, the weight of this law falls disproportionately on members of religious minority communities, such as Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and Ahmadis. For the Ahmadis, this law’s enforcement is on top of other prohibitions which severely restrict them from practicing their faith. In addition, enforcement of such laws emboldens religious extremist groups and their sympathizers to assault these minorities—as seen most recently when terrorists slaughtered Ismaili Muslims on a bus. And finally, Pakistan’s zealous enforcement of these laws is in contrast to the pronounced lack of zeal bringing to justice those responsible for such attacks.

Notably, when it comes to countering the violence, a strong Pakistani Supreme Court ruling in 2014 recognized that the state must do more. This far-ranging decision, which quoted the Quran and Alexis de Tocqueville, mandated the creation of a special police force to protect religious minorities and a national commission on minorities. However, this police force has yet to be created and the religious minority commission remains buried within the Ministry for Religious Affairs with no access to Pakistan’s prime minister.

Since returning home, we have reflected on the fact that Pakistan, like the United States, is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation. And as Pakistan’s prime minister has stated publicly, this diversity can be a strength if the nation treats minorities as citizens with equal rights. But the devastating attack by extremists on two churches in Lahore on the day we departed underscores our greatest concerns.

Consequently, we remain convinced that the State Department should designate Pakistan a “country of particular concern” for its continued record of failure in protecting religious freedom.  Such a designation would elevate the discussion between Washington and Islamabad by signaling serious concern about current conditions.

But the United States can also lend a hand, and we see opportunities for constructive engagement that empowers those working to protect Pakistan’s religious diversity and combat extremism. For instance, creating a new avenue for U.S.-Pakistani engagement would strengthen Pakistani institutions that seek to help religious minorities. Also, as USCIRF has recommended, the United States could direct its security assistance funds to help protect minority worship sites. And reforming Pakistan’s blasphemy law is both essential and possible, especially given the Punjab provincial government’s hopeful step to review twenty percent of the 262 cases of alleged blasphemous behavior.

The United States can help move Pakistan forward, but we needn’t do it alone: we can work with international partners to raise concerns in various settings and encourage Pakistan’s government to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief to visit Pakistan. Pakistan is a beautiful but complicated and, increasingly, dangerous country. With help from the United States and the world community, Pakistan must reverse its slide away from tolerance, and protect religious diversity and freedom.

Katrina Lantos Swett is Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Mary Ann Glendon is a USCIRF Commissioner.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 1, 2015

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns the continuing prosecution of Rev. Yat Michael and Rev. Peter Reith who face the death penalty if convicted on the baseless charges of undermining Sudan’s constitution and waging war against the state.

“The trial of Revs. Michael and Reith is a clear example of the Sudanese government’s persecution of the country’s small Christian community.  They are on trial simply for demanding and urging their congregation to remain strong in the face of restrictions on their constitutional right to religious freedom,” said USCIRF Chair Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett.  “USCIRF urges the U.S. government and international community to publicly speak out against the trial, demand the pastors’ immediate release, and press the Sudanese government to abide by its constitutional and international commitments to respect religious freedom for all.”

Revs. Michael and Reith, both of South Sudanese origin, belong to the Presbyterian Evangelical Church Khartoum Bahri congregation.  The congregation has brought a legal case against Sudanese authorities to stop the illegal sale of church land by Sudanese authorities to a Muslim businessman.  The National Intelligence Security Services (NISS) detained Rev. Michael in December 2014, after recording him urging parishioners at a church service to continue standing firm through the trials they were experiencing.  The same month, authorities partially destroyed the church and arrested 37 congregants.  Rev. Reith was detained in January 2015.  Both pastors were held at an undisclosed location and were not granted access to lawyers and family until March 1.

The pastors have been charged with undermining the constitutional system (Article 50 of the Sudanese Criminal Code); waging war against the state (Article 51); disclosure and receipt of official information or documents (Article 55); arousing feelings of discontent among regular forces (Article 62); breach of public peace (Article 69); and offences relating to insulting religious beliefs (Article125).  Violations of Article 50 or 51 carry the death penalty or life imprisonment.

In 2015, USCIRF again recommended that Sudan be designated as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) for its particularly severe violations of religious freedom.  The State Department has designated Sudan as a CPC since 1999, most recently in July 2014. 

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

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

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

May 28, 2015 | Katrina Lantos Swett & Robert P. George

The following op-ed appeared in Deseret News on May 28, 2015

“We do not jail people for their opinions.”

So insisted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in his April 27 interview with American journalist Charlie Rose.

Zarif has since claimed he was speaking about imprisoned journalist Jason Rezaian, an American citizen Iran is about to try on trumped-up charges which include espionage.

Whether Rezaian is being jailed for an opinion is at best unclear. What is clear is that the foreign minister’s statement is as believable as the charges against Rezaian, which the Washington Post, his current employer, the U.S. government and human rights groups rightly deem absurd.

Of course Iran jails people for their opinions, especially when they challenge Tehran’s religious orthodoxy.

Just ask Pastor Saeed Abedini, another American citizen serving an eight-year prison term since January 2013 for “threatening national security” by facilitating religious gatherings in Christian homes.

And ask the seven Baha’i leaders who as of this month have been imprisoned for seven years: Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet.

As Iran’s largest non-Muslim minority, now numbering more than 300,000, Baha’is believe their founder received a divine revelation more than a millennium after the Quran. No religious group in Iran suffers more. They are anathema to a government that has been imposing its own interpretation of Shiite Islam on Iran since the 1978 Islamic Revolution brought it to power.

Authorities have since killed more than 200 Baha’i leaders, and more than 10,000 have been dismissed from government and university jobs. Baha’is are effectively barred from attending university, starting their own schools or houses of worship, serving in the military and obtaining various forms of employment. Even their marriages are unrecognized.

Since 2005, more than 750 Baha’is have been arrested, including dozens over the past year, and as of February 2015, more than 100 remain imprisoned. In April 2014, authorities began destroying a historic Baha’i cemetery in Shiraz. In October, nearly 80 Baha’i-owned shops in Kerman Province forcibly were closed.

Last year alone, pro-government print and media outlets published nearly 4,000 anti-Baha’i articles. An October 2011 report by the Baha’i International Community summarized the government’s relentless propaganda and negative portrayal of Baha’is as follows:

“They are accused of being agents for … imperialist … factions; they face … utterly unfounded allegations of immorality; they are branded as social pariahs. … The propaganda is shocking in its volume and vehemence, its scope and sophistication, cynically calculated to stir up antagonism against a peaceful religious community whose members are striving to contribute to the well-being of their society.”

Acts of anti-Baha’i violence are not uncommon and often go unprosecuted. For example, no one has been charged for the stabbing of three Baha’is in February 2014.

As Pastor Abedini’s case illustrates, members of religious minorities other than the Baha’is also face imprisonment and other forms of persecution. Since 2010, authorities arbitrarily have arrested and detained more than 500 Christians. As of February of this year, about 90 Christians either were jailed, detained or awaiting trial due to their religious beliefs and activities, with assaults and beatings common.

Muslims face jail time as well. According to an October 2014 U.N. report on human rights in Iran, 150 Sunni Muslims are incarcerated based on charges related to religious beliefs, with more than 30 on death row. Over the past year, authorities also have detained hundreds of Sufi Muslims, sentencing many to imprisonment, fines and floggings. Not even majority Shiite Muslims are exempt. Dissident Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Kazemeni Boroujerdi continues to serve an 11-year prison sentence and has suffered physical and mental abuse while jailed.

President Obama has rightly called for releasing Jason Rezaian, as well as Pastor Abedini. Washington should renew that call now. Iran’s foreign minister has now unwittingly spotlighted others unjustly jailed, including the Baha’i Seven. We hope the president and the world community will call for their freedom as well.

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