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July 22, 2013 | by USCIRF

WASHINGTON D.C. -- On the one-year anniversary of the crackdown on Muslim protestors for peacefully advocating for their religious freedom rights, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) calls on the Ethiopian government to release 29 individuals who have been detained and put on trial.

In July 2012, the government arrested hundreds of Muslims peacefully demanding that it cease interfering in their religious affairs and allow their community to vote freely for representatives on the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC). While most were released, 29 were charged on October 29, 2012 under the government's Anti-Terror Proclamation, accused of "intending to advance a political, religious or ideological cause” by force and the "planning, preparation, conspiracy, incitement and attempt of terrorist acts.” It was the first time that Ethiopia's terrorism law was used in connection with a religious freedom issue.

"We are deeply concerned that Ethiopia's government is seeking to silence peaceful religious freedom proponents by detaining and trying them in secret under trumped-up terrorism charges. They should be released now and their trials halted,” said USCIRF Chair Katrina Lantos Swett. "When USCIRF was in Ethiopia in December 2012, we met with lawyers for the 29 who reported that their clients had been tortured and experienced other ill-treatment in detention. Since then, the Commission has expressed concern about a February 2013program, Jihadawi Harekat (Holy War Movement). This program, which the government aired on Ethiopia TV and portrayed the protesters and those arrested as terrorists, could prejudice the outcome of their trial. The U.S. government must increase its advocacy to ensure that the defendants' religious freedom and human and due process rights are respected."

Starting in December 2011, Muslims in Addis Ababa and across Ethiopia held weekly peaceful demonstrations in mosques after Friday prayers to protest efforts by the government and the EIASC to impose al-Ahbash, a foreign interpretation of Islam, on their community. While officials did not stop the protests for almost six months, as they grew in size, protestors reported that security forces began intimidating them and their families to discourage continued demonstrations.

The first arrests occurred on July 13, 2012, when police raided the Aweliya Mosque as individuals gathered to plan for both a charity event and protests to coincide with an upcoming African Union Summit in Addis Ababa. Protestors reportedly were beaten and arrested, with some witnesses alleging police use of tear gas and live ammunition. On July 19-20, the police continued to arrest Muslim community members, including journalists and the 17 members of the Arbitration Committee the protestors had elected to negotiate with the government. On July 21, police broke up a sit-in protesting the arrests. According to witnesses, protestors were subjected to beatings, tear gas and arrests.

Those charged include nine members of the Arbitration Committee, the editor-in-chief of the Ye'Muslimoch Guday Yusuf Getachew, and Habiba Mohammed, the wife of the (now former) Minister of Civil Service, Junedin Sado.

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July 22, 2013 | By USCIRF

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- USCIRF urges President Obama to raise concerns about religious freedom violations in Vietnam when he meets at the White House with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang on July 25. Raising these concerns as the U.S.-Vietnamese bilateral relationship is improving will underscore America's support for this fundamental right.

"Because religious freedom conditions remain very poor in Vietnam, we respectfully urge President Obama to raise concerns about religious freedom and related human rights when he meets with President Truong Tan Sang,” said USCIRF Chair Katrina Lantos Swett. "The progress that took place over the past decade was achieved when American and international attention made improvements in religious freedom a core part of the bilateral agenda. These linkages did not, and will not, threaten our relationship: In fact, the Vietnamese government's support for religious freedom can only strengthen the relationship between our two countries.”

As documented in USCIRF's 2013 Annual Report, the government of Vietnam continues to expand control over all religious activities, severely restrict independent religious practice, and repress individuals and religious groups it views as challenging its authority. The Vietnamese government uses a specialized religious police force and vague national security laws to suppress independent Buddhist, Protestant, Hoa Hao, and Cao Dai activities, and seeks to stop the growth of ethnic minority Protestantism and Catholicism via discrimination, violence and forced renunciations of their faith. The government also continues to harass, threaten, intimidate, detain, and sentence lawyers and disbar human rights defenders who have assisted religious communities or religious freedom advocates in cases against the state.

"Vietnam must do more to respect religious freedom. The state visit provides a unique opportunity for President Obama to press for change,” continued Dr. Swett. "Opening more space for independent religious activity and freeing jailed lawyers who defend the rights of individuals and communities is a must.”

In December 2012, lawyer and human rights defender Le Quoc Quan, who has assisted Catholics in seeking return of church properties, was again arrested. Mr. Quan currently is detained incommunicado in Hoa Lo Prison with no access to his lawyer and family. Dr. Cu Huy Ha Vu, who in 2010 represented the residents of the village of Con Dau against a government land grab of their village and cemetery, was charged with propaganda against the state. He now is serving a seven-year sentence based on other activism and is in poor health.

Given these systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations, USCIRF continues to recommend that Vietnam be designated as a "country of particular concern (CPC), placing it among the world's worst violators of religious freedom. The Commission has recommended CPC status for Vietnam since 2001. The State Department did so in 2004 and 2005, but removed the designation in 2006 because of progress toward fulfilling a binding agreement.

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July 10, 2013| By USCIRF

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urges an end to all violence and restrictions on religious activity in China's Xinjiang Uighur [Muslim] Autonomous Region (XUAR).

Religious freedom conditions in the XUAR have deteriorated significantly since the ethnic violence of July 2009. The Chinese government has instituted sweeping security measures that include efforts to weaken religious adherence and stop "illegal religious gatherings”and "illegal religious activities.” Restrictions on Uighur Muslim religious activities have caused deep resentment of Beijing's oversight of the XUAR.

"Launched in the name of stability and security, Beijing's campaigns of repression against Uighur Muslims include the targeting of peaceful private gatherings for religious study and devotion,” said Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF Chair. "These abuses predictably have led to neither stability nor security, but rather instability and insecurity. Through its campaign of repression, the Chinese government has egregiously abused internationally recognized human rights, including the right of freedom of religion or belief. We urge the government to lift these restrictions, especially with the start of Ramadan.”

In its 2013 Annual Report , USCIRF chronicled religious freedom abuses that have resulted from Beijing's policies in the XUAR. Professors, university students, and government employees have been prohibited from observing Ramadan and engaging in daily religious activities such as reciting prayers, distributing religious materials, and wearing head coverings. Minors under the age of 18 continue to be denied access to some mosques and religious education.

During the past year, Chinese police and security forces have initiated raids against "illegal religious schools” in the city of Hotan during which over 60 people were arrested, 17 children injured, and one child died while in police custody. In the city of Kashgar, Uighur men were sentenced to between seven to 10 years on charges that included "harboring extremist religious thoughts” and holding "underground religious meetings.” In addition, over 30 people were killed during clashes between Uighur youth and police in Lukchun township (Turpan Prefecture) and Hotan. As many as 18 Uighurs recently were given sentences from 15 days to 6 years for engaging in various "illegal religious activities.”

"China's reliance on repression fuels resentment and increases the likelihood of the very extremism that China claims it seeks to quell. For the sake of security as well as religious freedom, China's government should lift its restrictions on all peaceful religious activities," said Lantos Swett.