FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2020

USCIRF Religious Prisoner of Conscience Mr. Mohammed Ali Taheri Granted Asylum in Canada

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is elated by news that Iranian religious prisoner of conscience Mr. Mohammed Ali Taheri has been granted asylum in Canada. Mr. Taheri arrived in Toronto on March 8, 2020.

“I am thrilled to hear of Mr. Taheri’s resettlement and congratulate his followers on this wonderful news. I also thank the government of Canada for its efforts to swiftly grant asylum to Mr. Taheri and allow him to join his family in Toronto,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Gayle Manchin, who adopted Mr. Taheri as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. “We urge the U.S. government to give safe haven to members of persecuted Iranian religious minorities like Mr. Taheri and his followers, beginning with those at-risk individuals who have been approved for resettlement under the bipartisan Lautenberg Amendment.”

Mohammed Ali Taheri is the founder of the mystic Erfan-e Halgheh movement. The Iranian government detained him in 2011 on blasphemy charges and passed down death sentences in 2011 and again in 2017, though Iran’s Supreme Court overturned both verdicts. In April 2019, he was released from prison but remained under house arrest and government surveillance. Mr. Taheri’s followers have also been persecuted for their membership in Erfan-e Halgheh, which includes Amirhossein Mirkhalili, who was sentenced in January 2020 to 10 years’ imprisonment on charges related to his involvement with the group, and for “propaganda activities against Islamic Republic.”

“While we are delighted by the news of Mr. Taheri’s newfound freedom, his plight is far too common in Iran, where the government is responsible for the egregious persecution of religious minorities, even during the current COVID-19 crisis,” said USCIRF Commissioner Gary Bauer. “The United States must continue to hold accountable those Iranian officials who are responsible for such violations, including through the use of targeted sanctions and visa bans.”

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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]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2020

USCIRF Welcomes Indian Supreme Court Decision on Assam Detention Centers as a First Step

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomed the decision of India’s Supreme Court to relax conditions for the release of individuals detained as “foreigners” in Assam’s detention centers due to concerns with the spread of COVID-19. In response to an application submitted by the Justice for Liberty Initiative, the Supreme Court ordered the release of detainees held for at least two years and lowered the personal bond amount necessary to secure release from 100,000 to 5,000 rupees.

“We welcome this decision as a first step,” stated USCIRF Chair Tony Perkins. “We urge the Indian Supreme Court to continue on this promising path and order the release of all those detained in the detention centers on humanitarian grounds. Even two years as a minimum time for release is unreasonable given the threat of detention centers becoming a breeding ground for the spread of COVID-19.”

In recent years, the northeastern state of Assam has undertaken a number of processes to verify its residents’ citizenship, including the National Register of Citizens, with the effect of a large number of Indian citizens, especially Bengalis, having their citizenship questioned by authorities. Nearly 1,000 people under suspicion of being a “foreigner” are currently housed in six detention centers in Assam as they await deportation. Some individuals have been detained for as long as 10 years without being sentenced to a crime.

USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava added, “It is encouraging that India’s Supreme Court recognized the vulnerability of detainees in the detention centers. We remain concerned, however, that these individuals were wrongfully labeled as ‘foreigners’ and detained in the first place. Moving forward, we hope the government ends the practice of detaining individuals within these centers, especially given the overriding concerns with COVID-19.”

In its 2019 Annual Report, USCIRF highlighted concerns that the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam “is an intentional effort to discriminate and/or has the effect of discriminating against Muslims, and that the discretion given to local authorities in the verification process and in identifying perceived foreigners to be excluded from the [NRC] draft list will be abused.”

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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].

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2020

USCIRF Troubled by Denial of Food Aid to Pakistani Hindus and Christians

Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is troubled by the reports of food aid being denied to Hindus and Christians amid the spread of COVID-19 in Pakistan.

“These actions are simply reprehensible,” stated USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava. “As COVID-19 continues to spread, vulnerable communities within Pakistan are fighting hunger and to keep their families safe and healthy.  Food aid must not be denied because of one’s faith. We urge the Pakistani government to ensure that food aid from distributing organizations is shared equally with Hindus, Christians, and other religions minorities.”

In Karachi, for example, there have been reports that the Saylani Welfare International Trust, a non-government organization established to assist the homeless and seasonal workers, has been refusing food assistance to Hindus and Christians, arguing that the aid is reserved for Muslims alone.

USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore added, “In a recent address by Prime Minister Khan to the international community, he highlighted that the challenge facing governments in the developing world is to save people from dying of hunger while also trying to halt the spread of COVID-19. This is a monumental task laying before many countries. Prime Minister Khan’s government has the opportunity to lead the way but they must not leave religious minorities behind. Otherwise, they may add on top of it all one more crisis, created by religious discrimination and inter-communal strife.”

In its 2019 Annual Report, USCIRF noted that Hindus and Christians in Pakistan “face continued threats to their security and are subject to various forms of harassment and social exclusion.”

For more information on how governments’ response to COVID-19 is impacting religious freedom around the world, see USCIRF’s latest factsheet: The Global Response to the Coronavirus: Impact on Religious Practice and Religious Freedom.

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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].