“Bagir Kazikhanov has languished in prison since April 2014 simply for following the dictates of his conscience,” said USCIRF Commissioner John Ruskay. “It is long overdue for the Russian government to stop equating peaceful religious behavior with terrorism or extremism and immediately release Bagir Kazikhanov and other prisoners of conscience who have been imprisoned on false charges of extremism.”

Commissioner John Ruskay has taken up the case of Bagir Kazikhanov as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. This project highlights the plight of individuals who have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs, practices, or identity.

Kazikhanov organized regular study sessions in rented apartments between 2012 and 2014 in Dagestan, a Russian republic, where he was born.  During these study sessions, he and fellow Muslims studied the works of the highly regarded theologian Said Nursi. Kazikhanov was sentenced on February 25, 2015 to three and a half years’ imprisonment after being convicted under Part One of Art. 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code for participating in “extremist activity.”

The Russian government continues to surveil, investigate, and prosecute Said Nursi readers for alleged extremism despite no apparent link to such activities. Another reader of Nursi’s writings was arrested in Russia a few weeks ago, bringing the number of Muslims known to be on trial or under criminal investigation for meeting to study Nursi's writings to twelve. On April 10, 2008, the Russian Supreme Court  banned the “Nurdzhular” organization, an alleged conspiracy of Nursi followers which is widely believed to be a legal fiction the Russian government invented to facilitate the prosecution of Nursi adherents.

Due to these and other actions the Russian government has taken, USCIRF for the first time recommended in the 2017 Annual Report that Russia be designated as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) for its “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations of religious freedom. For more information, please see USCIRF’s 2017 Annual Report chapter on Russia. The Russian translation may be found here.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission, the first of its kind in the world, dedicated to defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad. To learn more about the Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project or to interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).

Commissioner Jackie Wolcott sent the following letter to Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh and Mrs. Tran Thi Hong on May 15, 2017.

Click here to view the Vietnamese translation of the letter.

Dear Pastor Chinh and Mrs. Hong:

I write to you as a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and a person of faith who is deeply concerned about your well-being.  I want to express my Commission’s and my own support and solidarity with you as you continue your struggles in support of religious freedom.  Your plight rightfully has drawn the attention of people worldwide.

This is a poignant time to highlight your struggle.  Twelve years ago this month, the United States and Vietnam reached an agreement requiring the Vietnamese government to improve religious freedom conditions in your country.  Sadly, and as you know all too well, this agreement largely has been followed by more restrictions, not more freedom.

Tragically, Pastor Chinh, your detention for more than five years of your 11-year prison sentence is clearly and completely unjust. I understand that the Vietnamese authorities are denying you vitally needed medical treatment as you serve prison time for the alleged crime of “undermining national solidarity.”  As a minister to the Christian community in the Central Highlands, the government should protect, not punish, your voice for peaceful criticism of restrictions on religious freedom.  

Mrs. Hong, we understand that you too have been subjected to frequent government surveillance and harassment, including one year ago this month when Vietnamese police officers harshly interrogated you, burst into your home and assaulted your son.  Please know that I will not forget your family’s ill-treatment.

As a religious freedom advocate myself, I have been deeply inspired by both of you and your resiliency under these cruel conditions.  As long as you remain in prison, Pastor, and as long as the Vietnamese authorities continue to unfairly treat you and your family, please be assured that I am dedicated to publicly and privately working on your behalf, so that your family can be reunited and you can freely practice your faith, openly and without further threat.

With deepest respect,

Ambassador Jackie Wolcott

Ambassador Jackie Wolcott is a Commissioner at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a U.S. government body that monitors the universal right to religious freedom. 

USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project highlights the plight of individuals who have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs, practices or identity.  To learn more about this project or to interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].

INDONESIA: USCIRF Denounces the Recent Conviction and Sentencing of Jakarta’s Governor for Blasphemy

USCIRF Calls for the Release of Those Accused of or Convicted of Blasphemy

Washington, D.C. –  The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) denounces the recent conviction of Jakarta’s governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama – also known as “Ahok” – on blasphemy charges.  Ahok, a Christian of Chinese descent, was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to two years in prison despite the prosecutors’ recommendation that the blasphemy charges be dropped.

“USCIRF remains very concerned with countries such as Indonesia that have blasphemy laws.  These laws are used to intimidate and harass individuals, including religious dissenters and minorities and violate their freedom of religion and belief,” said USCIRF chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J.

In its 2017 annual report, USCIRF again placed Indonesia on its Tier 2 list as it has since 2004. Tier 2 includes nations in which the religious violations engaged in or tolerated by the government are systematic, ongoing, and/or egregious.

“We call on the Indonesian government at the central, provincial, and local levels to comply with the Indonesian constitution and international human rights standards. The Indonesian government should repeal article 156(a) of the Penal Code and unconditionally release anyone sentenced for ‘deviancy,’ ‘denigrating religion,’ or ‘blasphemy’,” said USCIRF Vice Chairman Daniel Mark who traveled to Indonesia in 2015 to assess religious freedom conditions.

To view the full USCIRF 2017 Annual Report visit www.USCIRF.gov. The Indonesia chapter may be found here and the Bahasa Indonesian translation here.

To interview a Commissioner please contact [email protected] or John D. Lawrence, Director of Communications ([email protected]/+1-202-786-0611).