FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USCIRF Decries Decision to Change Status of the Hagia Sophia 

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) decries the decision of Turkey’s Council of State (Danıştay), the country’s highest administrative court, to permit the conversion of the historic Hagia Sophia from its current status as a museum back into a mosque.

USCIRF Vice Chair Tony Perkins said, “USCIRF condemns the unequivocal politicization of the Hagia Sophia, an architectural wonder that has for so long stood as a cherished testament to a complex history and rich diversity. Both Christians and Muslims alike ascribe great cultural and spiritual importance to the Hagia Sophia, whose universal value to humankind was reaffirmed with its inclusion in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List in 1985.”

Built in the sixth century, the Hagia Sophia served as a Greek Orthodox cathedral for nearly 1,000 years before Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II converted it into a mosque following the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. It became a museum in 1935, following the founding of the Republic of Turkey.

“It is regrettable that the Turkish government has proceeded with these steps, and with such disregard for the feelings of its own religious minority communities,” USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel added. “This decision comes at a time of increased fear and insecurity due to recent attacks on churches and other threats against religious and ethnic minorities and will only add to their sense of marginalization under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government.”

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department place Turkey on its Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating severe religious freedom violations.

###

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 Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].

This op-ed originally appears in The Diplomat, on July 9, 2020.

By USCIRF Commissioners Nadine Maenza and Nury Turkel

For many years, Uzbekistan presented a bleak picture in a region notorious for poor human rights conditions. Under the country’s late authoritarian leader, Islam Karimov, the government relentlessly repressed all independent religious activity that it did not expressly sanction. In one particularly infamous incident documented in 2002, the bodies of two religious prisoners held at Jasliq Prison—also called the “House of Torture”—were returned to their families with evidence of torture indicating that at least one of them had been boiled alive. A decade later, a popular imam who had fled Uzbekistan and received asylum in Sweden barely survived an assassination attempt that many believed was orchestrated by the government.

Karimov’s death in September 2016 brought to power his former prime minister, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who has proven himself inclined to reform and committed to improving Uzbekistan’s international image. Among his administration’s efforts to implement reform on a number of fronts, its focus and engagement on religious freedom concerns have been a welcome, if slow, reversal of a long-standing official policy of persecution.

The government’s initial move to delist many thousands of individuals from its blacklist of potential “religious extremists,” and its decision to invite United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion of belief Ahmed Shaheed to visit the country in late 2017, were groundbreaking first steps in the right direction. The government’s adoption of a “road map” in response to Mr. Shaheed’s recommendations the following year was a promising sign of its commitment as well.

For 15 consecutive years, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that the U.S. State Department designate Uzbekistan as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for its “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.”

But, on April 28, USCIRF for the first-time recommended Uzbekistan for the Special Watch List (SWL) in recognition of the progress made, and, crucially, in the expectation of continued reform in the year ahead.

Although the State Department opted to remove Uzbekistan from its list of most egregious religious freedom violators in late 2018, USCIRF did not recommend the State Department do so until now.

It is imperative that Uzbekistan continue on its chosen path of reform to provide and protect the rights of all its people to practice their religion or beliefs. Its expected adoption of a revised Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations would be a welcome next step in its efforts to provide all the conditions for true religious freedom.

Over the course of the last year, we have seen Uzbekistan take real, concrete action to substantially improve and increase the space for religious freedom throughout the country. When a USCIRF delegation visited Uzbekistan last year, many diverse religious faiths and communities shared that the situation had truly changed for the better.

USCIRF’s 2020 Annual Report highlighted the government’s directive to law enforcement authorities and police to cease raids on religious groups, and the announced closure of Jasliq Prison as some of the most significant positive developments of 2019.

However, although notable progress has been made, much remains to be done.

Of particular concern are the reported thousands of peaceful Muslims whom Uzbekistan continues to imprison on vague or spurious charges of “religious extremism.” While there have been some prisoner releases, the government should fully review the cases of all individuals imprisoned under such charges as well as release, rehabilitate, and exonerate those held as political and religious prisoners.

Uzbekistan should also ensure that its approach and advancement of freedom of religion or belief is comprehensive and inclusive of all its religious communities, including Muslims. The government’s reluctance to extend fundamental rights to all Muslims, and particularly those who choose to exercise or publicly express their beliefs by growing a beard or wearing a hijab, is contrary to its commitment to international human rights standards. As Uzbekistan moves forward with plans to overhaul its religion law, it should minimize mandatory registration requirements as much as possible, and set aside inordinate and stifling bans on proselytism, missionary activity, and the private teaching of religion.

Finally, Uzbekistan must remain vigilant to protect the gains it has made, continue to actively push forward reforms to its legal framework regarding religion—such as fulfilling its pledge to revise the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations—and avoid any backsliding.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2020

USCIRF Applauds Global Magnitsky Sanctions Against Senior Chinese Officials

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today applauded the U.S. Department of Treasury’s designations under the Global Magnitsky Act and the Department of State’s imposition of visa restrictions on senior Chinese officials responsible for egregious religious freedom violations against Uyghur and other Muslims in Xinjiang.

“For years, USCIRF has called on the administration to impose targeted sanctions against Chen Quanguo, Zhu Hailun, and other senior officials responsible for the Communist Party’s genocidal policies against the Uyghur people.” USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel stated. “Today’s announcements represent a major victory for religious freedom and an important step toward holding Communist China accountable for its crimes against humanity.”

Since 2017, the Chinese government has detained millions of Uyghur, Kazakh, and other Muslims, often targeting individuals engaged in religious practices, such as growing beards or wearing veils. Last week, reports emerged that Chinese authorities had engaged in forced sterilizations and other repressive population control measures against Uyghurs, which USCIRF warned could meet the definition of genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

On July 9, the Treasury Department added the following to the Global Magnitsky Designations List: Chen Quanguo, Communist Party Secretary for Xinjiang; Zhu Hailun, former Political and Legal Affairs Commission Chief; Wang Mingshan, director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau; Huo Liujun former deputy party secretary; and the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau. The State Department visa restrictions bar Chen, Zhu, and Wang, as well as their family members, from entry into the United States. These measures follow the enactment of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which directs the administration to impose financial sanctions and visa bans against Chinese government officials responsible for the persecution of Uyghur and other Muslims.

“The Trump administration’s actions today demonstrates that the United States is prepared to take concrete steps to protect Uyghurs and other religious groups in Communist China,” noted USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “We urge the administration to keep up the pressure by refusing to send U.S. officials to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing unless the Communist Chinese government ceases its war on faith.”

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF called for targeted sanctions against Chen and other Chinese officials. In February 2020, USCIRF released a factsheet explaining how the new Administrative Measures for Religious Groups could further restrict religious freedom.

###

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 Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].