Nov 19, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2019

 

 

Fate of Nearly 2 million in Assam, India Examined in New USCIRF Report

 

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released a report on the religious freedom implications of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. With 1.9 million names of residents of Assam left off the updated NRC list, the report raises concerns about how the NRC process is being used to target and disenfranchise the Muslim population in Assam.

“Close to two million long-time residents of Assam may soon be deemed stateless. They are being stripped of their citizenship without a fair, transparent, and well-regulated NRC process,” said USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava, who testified about Assam last week. “Worse yet is that Indian political officials have repeatedly conveyed their intent to direct and use the NRC process to isolate and push out Muslims in Assam. And now, across India, political leaders are seeking to expand the NRC and implement different citizenship standards for Muslims altogether.”

“The updated NRC list and subsequent actions of the Indian government are essentially creating a religious test for citizenship to target Assam’s vulnerable Muslim community. We urge the Indian government to protect the rights of all of its religious minorities as enshrined in the Indian constitution,” added Chair Tony Perkins.

In its 2019 Annual Report, USCIRF classified India as a “Tier 2” country for engaging in or tolerating religious freedom violations that meet at least one of the elements of the “systematic, ongoing, egregious” standard for designation as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act. The India chapter expressed concern that the NRC is “an intentional effort to discriminate and/or has the effect of discriminating against Muslims.”

 

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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 call 202-523-3240.

 

Gender: Female

Current Location: Shandong Women’s Prison

Perpetrator: China

Ethnic Group: Han

Religion or Belief: Christian – Church of Almighty God

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: 10 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: October/31/2014

Date of Sentencing: April/28/2017

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief

Nature of Charges: Cult

Wang Guimei

Extra Bio Info:

Wang Guimei is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On October 31, 2014, police in Jiaozhou city, Shandong province, detained Wang after authorities accused her of being a church leader. 

On April 28, 2017, the Jimo People’s Court of Shandong Province sentenced Wang to ten years in prison and two years of deprived political rights for "organizing or using a cult to undermine implementation of the law" (Art. 300 CCL). She was also fined 100,000 yuan.

Wang was taken to Shandong Women’s Prison to serve her sentence.

Publicly Available Information:

Gender: Male

Current Location: Central Jail, Multan, Punjab

Perpetrator: Pakistan

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: Death + Life Imprisonment + 10 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: May/13/2013

Date of Sentencing: December/21/2019

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Figures) Blasphemy (Religious Texts)

Nature of Charges: Hate Speech

Junaid Hafeez

Extra Bio Info:

Junaid Hafeez is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy. 

In March 2013, authorities arrested Hafeez, a lecturer at Bahauddin Zakariya University, after his students accused him of blaspheming Islam on social media. In 2014, authorities placed him in solitary confinement after other prisoners repeatedly attacked him. That same year, two gunmen shot to death Hafeez's lawyer, Rashin Rehman, in his office.

In December 2019, a district and sessions court in Multan sentenced Hafeez to death for "insulting the Prophet Muhammad" (Sec. 295-C PPC). He was also sentenced to life in prison for "desecrating the Qur'an" (Sec. 295-B PPC) and 10 years' imprisonment for "intending to outrage religious feelings" (Sec. 295-A PPC). United Nations experts swiftly condemned Hafeez's sentence.

Prior to his arrest, Hafeez received a master's degree in the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship. He specialized in American literature, photography, and theatre.

Publicly Available Information:
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