FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2019

USCIRF Statement on Mob Lynching of Muslim Man in India

WASHINGTON, DC – In response to the reported murder of Tabrez Ansari by a mob in the eastern state of Jharkhand in India, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Tony Perkins issued the following statement:

“We condemn in the strongest terms this brutal murder, in which the perpetrators reportedly forced Ansari to say Hindu chants as they beat him for hours. Ansari later died from the injuries he suffered due to this horrific attack. We call on the Indian government to take concrete actions that will prevent this kind of violence and intimidation by a thorough investigation of Ansari’s murder as well as the local police’s handling of the case. Lack of accountability will only encourage those who believe they can target religious minorities with impunity.”

In its most recent Annual Report, released in April, USCIRF again placed India on its Tier 2 for engaging in or tolerating religious freedom violations that meet at least one of the elements of the “systematic, ongoing, egregious” standard used to designate “countries of particular concern,” or CPCs, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The report details numerous concerns in Jharkhand, including its anti-conversion law and mob violence against religious minorities. In 2018, USCIRF released a special report on limitations on religious minorities in South Asia, including in India.

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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 Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2019

USCIRF Statement on Release of State Department’s 2018 International Religious Freedom Report

WASHINGTON, DC – In response to the release of the 2018 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom by the State Department, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Tony Perkins issued the following statement:

“We are pleased that the State Department is committed to improving religious freedom conditions throughout the world. We look forward to learning, within the mandated 90 days, which countries will be designated as countries of particular concern (CPC) or will be put on the Special Watch list, and which nonstate actors will be designated as entities of concern (EPC).

We encourage the State Department to refrain from using preexisting sanctions or indefinite waivers that provide little or no incentive for governments of CPC-designated countries to reduce or halt egregious religious freedom violations.”

The State Department’s annual International Religious Freedom Report covers nearly 200 countries, 28 of which are analyzed in USCIRF’s Annual Report on the world’s worst offenders against freedom of religion or belief.

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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 Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.