FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2019

USCIRF Expresses Condolences on Death of Armenian Patriarch, Mesrob II, and Calls on Turkey to Allow Free Election of New Patriarch
 

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today expressed condolences on the death of Mesrob Mutafyan, who was elected leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Turkey in 1998. The Armenian community in Turkey is estimated to be around 90,000, most of whom reside in or around Istanbul. USCIRF also urges the government of Turkey to allow this community to freely hold elections for a new patriarch. Last year Turkish authorities again prevented the community from holding an election for a new leader.

“We express our condolences to the Armenian community in Turkey on the loss of its spiritual leader,” said USCIRF Commissioner Andy Khawaja. “We also want to take this opportunity to urge the government of Turkey to allow this community to elect its new patriarch. The ability of Turkey’s Armenians to freely choose a new patriarch is a critical part of their religious freedom. The government’s prevention of an election continues to exemplify its willful disregard for religious freedom for all.”

In its 2018 Annual Report, USCIRF placed Turkey on 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 a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act.

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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
February 27, 2019

USCIRF Urges President Trump to Address Religious Freedom Abuses in North Korea

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today called on President Donald J. Trump to raise the issue of religious freedom violations in North Korea during his upcoming second summit with Kim Jong-un in Vietnam.

“We urge President Trump to seize this important opportunity to again bring attention to the severe violations of religious freedom and other inexcusable human rights perpetrated by the North Korean government,” said Chair Tenzin Dorjee. “USCIRF was encouraged when President Trump raised these issues at last year’s summit. He should do so again, and continue to take every opportunity to raise these concerns until North Koreans are able to exercise religious freedom and other fundamental human rights freely and without fear.”

USCIRF has repeatedly recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate North Korea a “country of particular concern” (CPC) for “systematic, ongoing, egregious” violations of religious freedom. In USCIRF’s most recent policy update, the Commission found that the North Korean government’s approach to religion and belief is among the most repressive in the world. The update stated, “Put simply, freedom of religion or belief does not exist in North Korea…independent believers often face arrest, torture, beatings, and execution.”

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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
February 26, 2019

USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore Calls on Pakistan to Release Prisoner of Conscience Abdul Shakoor

WASHINGTON, DC – Johnnie Moore, Commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today called on Pakistan to immediately release Abdul Shakoor, an imprisoned Ahmadiyya Muslim. Pakistani authorities arrested Shakoor in December 2015 for selling an Ahmadiyya commentary on the Qur’an. In January 2016, he was given an eight-year prison sentence. On February 26, 2016, seven members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a bipartisan letter to then Secretary of State John Kerry seeking his support for Abdul Shakoor and a jailed Ahmadiyya newspaper editor, Tahir Mehdi. Three years later, the Pakistan government has yet to ensure justice for Shakoor.

“This is the third year in an eight-year sentence for the 82-year-old Abdul Shakoor, an innocent bookseller in Pakistan. USCIRF again condemns the charges levied against Mr. Shakoor, as well as the state-sponsored, legalized discrimination against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community,” said Commissioner Johnnie Moore who advocates on behalf of Mr. Shakoor through USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. “I call on Pakistan to immediately release Mr. Shakoor and, in the spirit of Pakistan’s founders more than 60 years ago, respect religious freedom.”

USCIRF began advocating for Mr. Shakoor in 2017, when it launched its Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. Every year since 2002, USCIRF has recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Pakistan a “country of particular concern” (CPC) for “ongoing, systematic, egregious” violations of religious freedom. In December 2018, the State Department designated Pakistan as a CPC.

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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.