This op-ed originally appeared on The Hill, on June 24, 2020. 

By USCIRF Commissioners Nury Turkel and Gary Bauer

For most people, traveling abroad can lead to exciting opportunities and exposure to new cultures. For Muslims from China, traveling abroad can put friends and family at home at risk. In December 2015, Abduhaliq Aziz, a young Muslim from the ancient city of Kashgar, moved to Cairo to study at the renowned Al-Azhar University. Shortly thereafter, Chinese authorities retaliated by detaining Aziz’s parents. Several years after Ablikim Yusuf, a Uyghur Muslim, moved to Pakistan for work, he received a message over WeChat: his brother was in a reeducation camp. Last summer, Qatari authorities nearly deported Yusuf to China while he was transiting through Doha airport; only public outrage and U.S. diplomacy allowed him to settle in Virginia.

At least Aziz and Yusuf are free. Millions of Muslims back in China aren’t so fortunate.

Since 2017, the Chinese government has detained an estimated 1.8 million Uyghur, Kazakh, and other Muslims in concentration camps across the northwestern region of Xinjiang. Leaked government documents show that many of these individuals were targeted because of their religious practices, such as growing a beard or wearing a veil, not because they posed a security risk. As part of this sinification campaign, nearly half a million Muslim children have been separated from their families and placed in boarding schools, where they are taught to obey the Party and reject Islam.

The Chinese government’s persecution of its Muslim population is unique not just because of its scale and ruthlessness, but also because of the lengths to which it goes to pursue Muslims outside its borders. The government has submitted extradition requests to Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, and other countries for Muslims who fled China. In 2017, Egyptian authorities rounded up dozens of Uyghur students and deported them to China. When it can’t seize individuals who have fled abroad, the government often detains their families back in China. In a particularly cruel move, in 2018 Dr. Gulshan Abbas was disappeared in an attempt to silence her sister, Rushan Abbas, an outspoken Uyghur-American activist based in Virginia.

Chinese agents have also harassed Uyghur Muslims who have become citizens or permanent residents in other countries, especially those vocal in criticizing the Communist Party’s human rights record. Uyghurs in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia have reported receiving threatening phone calls to obtain personal information or being tracked by Chinese diplomats.

Contrary to the Communist Party’s propaganda, the Chinese government’s war on faith is not simply a domestic issue. It affects Muslims around the world, from Istanbul to Indiana. It affects our fellow citizens, our colleagues, our neighbors, and our families.

In our 2020 Annual Report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that the U.S. government continue and increase efforts to counter Chinese influence operations designed to suppress religious freedom advocacy. The Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act, which Congress recently passed and President Donald Trump signed, makes important progress by requiring the FBI and State Department to report on Chinese attempts to intimidate U.S. citizens, ethnic Uyghurs, and Chinese nationals in the United States. U.S. diplomats should inform other governments—particularly those in Muslim-majority countries—of the threat to their citizens and encourage them to take steps to protect them.

In addition, we urge the State Department to work with other countries to prevent the refoulment to China of Muslims and others fleeing religious persecution. A priority should be lobbying against any extradition treaty with China without clear allowances for political asylum. We are especially concerned about the ambiguity of a draft extradition treaty between Turkey and China. The ratification and interpretation of this treaty could spell the difference between freedom and oppression for the approximately 50,000 Uyghur Muslims who reside in Turkey.

Finally, the United States needs to increase its presence at international and regional forums. While sometimes rightly derided as “talking shops,” these meetings have the power to set the agenda and influence public advocacy. For example, last March, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation issued a statement commending—not condemning—China’s treatment of its Muslim community. China reportedly sent more than a dozen diplomats to the meeting in Abu Dhabi, while the United States sent none. We need to ensure that never happens again. 

USCIRF Applauds Russian Court’s Parole of Jehovah’s Witness Dennis Christensen

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomed the decision of a Russian District Court in Lgov to grant parole to Dennis Christensen, a Jehovah’s Witness prisoner of conscience imprisoned for his faith since May 2017.

“USCIRF applauds the Russian court’s decision to grant clemency,” said USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin, who advocates for Dennis Christensen through the Commission’s Religious Prisoner of Conscience project. “Paroling Dennis Christensen was the right thing to do, and we are glad that the Russian government finally took this important step. We are hopeful that this represents a change in policy, yet we remain concerned about Russia’s ongoing imprisonment of people for simply practicing their peaceful religious beliefs.”

The court ordered that the remainder of his sentence be replaced with a fine of 400,000 rubles (roughly $6,000) and he will be released upon payment. Christensen was already eligible for early release a year ago because of time served in pre-trial detention, but prison authorities rejected his previous requests. His health, and the threat of COVID-19, only added urgency to his request.

“Dennis Christensen’s health noticeably deteriorated while in custody, and USCIRF is hopeful that he will recover his strength at home,” Chair Manchin added.

Ten Jehovah’s Witnesses reportedly remain imprisoned in Russia, while 24 are in pretrial detention, and 24 are under house arrest.

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. government designate Russia as a “country of particular concern” for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. The U.S. State Department currently includes Russia on its Special Watch List.

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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 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].

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USCIRF Urges Thailand and Malaysia to Protect Rohingya Muslim Refugees Stranded at Sea

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calls on the governments of Thailand and Malaysia to admit boats carrying Rohingya Muslim refugees stranded at sea.

“Thai and Malaysian authorities must recognize their obligations under international law to refugees fleeing ethnic and religious violence,” USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin stated. “USCIRF urges them to grant refuge to Rohingya Muslims fleeing ethnic cleansing in Burma. If not, hundreds could perish at sea.”

In recent months, a number of vessels carrying Rohingya Muslims fleeing ethnic and religious-based violence in Burma have been turned away by Thai and Malaysian authorities. On June 8, Malaysia accepted one boat only after it discovered the engine had failed. All 269 Rohingya on board were detained. With its engine repaired, there are reports Malaysia is planning on sending these Rohingya back to sea. In 2015, hundreds of Rohingya refugees died onboard the ships after being refused entry to Thailand and Malaysia.

“The Rohingya people have faced unimaginable horrors in their home country of Burma,” USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore added. “We urge the State Department to work with its counterparts in Thailand and Malaysia, and with the appropriate UN agencies, to ensure the safety of these vulnerable people and to address once-and-for-all the ongoing suffering of Burma’s Rohingya community.”

In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the State Department designate Burma as a ‘country of particular concern’ in large part because of its ethnic and religious violence against Rohingya, and recently released a factsheet about the International Court of Justice case to hold Burma accountable for these international crimes. USCIRF has also recommended the State Department include Malaysia in the Special Watch List in part for its treatment of religious minority communities.

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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].