Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Malaysia

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Shi'a

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Date of Detainment: November/24/2016

Current Status: Unknown

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Disappeared

Reason for Persecution: Humanitarian Work & Charitable Activities Practicing Religion as a Convert Religious Activity Religious Belief

Nature of Charges: Not Applicable

Amri Che Mat

Extra Bio Info:

Amri Che Mat was forcibly disappeared for his religious activity.

On November 24, 2016, Mat, a Shi'a Muslim convert, was abducted while driving to visit a friend. According to eyewitnesses, Mat's car was reportedly surrounded by five vehicles and more than a dozen men, some armed. Religious authorities had previously investigated Mat over suspicions that his NGO was using philanthropic efforts as a cover to spread illegal Shiite teachings.

On April 3, 2019, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) released a report concluding that the police's Special Branch was responsible for Mat's disappearance. His family filed a civil lawsuit, and in June of 2019, the government announced the creation of a special task force to investigate Mat's disappearance. 

In November 2025, the High Court ruled in favor of the family, recognizing state involvement in Mat's disappearance. The Court awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to Mat's wife and ordered police to reopen an investigation into the case.

Publicly Available Information:

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Malaysia

Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant

Date of Detainment: February/13/2017

Current Status: Unknown

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Disappeared

Reason for Persecution: Humanitarian Work & Charitable Activities Religious Activity Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role

Nature of Charges: Not Applicable

Raymond Koh

Extra Bio Info:

Raymond Koh was forcibly disappeared for his religious activity.

On February 13, 2017, fifteen Royal Malaysian Police officers in three black SUVs surrounded Koh's vehicle and abducted him. Koh was a Christian pastor and the leader of a humanitarian NGO which focused on helping people living with HIV/AIDs, people recovering from substance abuse disorder, and single mothers and children. Prior to his arrest, local Islamic authorities investigated his NGO over allegations that it was being used to convert Muslims to Christianity. 

On April 3, 2019, after an 18-month investigation, the national Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) announced that Koh was a victim of forced disappearance, noting that the Special Branch, an intelligence unit affiliated with the Malaysian police force, targeted Koh specifically for his religious activities. On June 26, 2019, the government established a task force to investigate the whereabouts of Koh and other disappeared persons. In February 2020, Koh's wife filed a lawsuit against the government to make public the task force's report.

In October 2024, Malaysian government officials released the task force report denying that Koh had been officially sanctioned or forcibly disappeared, but blamed his abduction on rogue police officers. On November 5, 2025, the High Court ruled in favor of Pastor Raymond Koh's family, finding the Malaysian government and police were liable for his abduction and enforced disappearance in 2017. The court ordered the government to pay a substantial sum in damages—RM10,000 per day from the date of the abduction until his whereabouts are revealed.

Publicly Available Information:

Additional Name(s): Adiljan Tuniyaz, ئادىل تۇنىياز, 阿地里江·吐尼亚孜

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: China

Ethnic Group: Uyghur

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Date of Detainment: December/25/2017

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment

Reason for Persecution: Ethnoreligious Identity Translating Religious Texts

Nature of Charges: Unknown

Adil Tuniyaz

Extra Bio Info:

Adil Tuniyaz is detained for translating religious texts and for his ethnoreligious identity. 

On or around December 25, 2017, authorities in Urumqi municipality, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), detained Tuniyaz, a writer and poet, and his wife Nezire Muhemmet Salih reportedly in relation to their translation of religious texts.  Authorities had accused them of “promoting terrorism and religious extremism." Tuniyaz's arrest came amid a campaign of arbitrary mass detentions of Uyghurs and other largely Muslim ethnic minority groups.

Tuniyaz is married with four children. His son Imran was also detained.

Related Cases: Nezire Muhemmet Salih, Imran Adil

Publicly Available Information:
Subscribe to