FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 1, 2007

Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan, independent federal body, condemns the Sudanese government's arrest, detention, conviction and sentencing of a teacher whose elementary-school class at a British international school in Khartoum reportedly named a teddy bear "Mohammed." The teacher should be released immediately and given safe passage out of the country.

According to media reports, in September British citizen Gillian Gibbons allowed her class of seven-year-olds to select a name for a stuffed toy, a teddy bear, as part of a lesson about animals. The name chosen by the children, "Mohammed," is a popular name in Sudan, as elsewhere in the Muslim world.

Ms. Gibbons was arrested Nov. 25 and sentenced on Nov. 28 to 15 days in prison and deportation for allegedly insulting religion by giving the name of the Prophet of Islam to a stuffed animal. Angry mobs, armed with knives and clubs, marched Friday in Khartoum's streets demanding that the teacher be put to death.

Commission Chair Michael Cromartie stated that the Sudanese authorities' prosecution of Ms. Gibbons "illustrates the arbitrary nature of laws ostensibly designed to protect religion from insult or defamation. Any personal grudge or political vendetta can provide the pretext for spurious accusations of blasphemy, apostasy, or insulting religion."

Such charges have been used in Sudan and elsewhere to restrict peaceful discussion of the appropriate role of religion in state and society, to prevent criticism of specific political figures or political parties, or to curb dissent from prevailing views and beliefs. The speed with which the defendant was found guilty also suggests that she was not permitted to mount a proper defense, in flagrant disregard of due process of law. The prosecution of Ms. Gibbons also appears to contravene Sudan's own Interim Constitution, provisions in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement enjoining tolerance and the protection of the rights of non-Muslims, and international human rights treaties to which Sudan is a party. These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, particularly Article 14, which states that everyone charged with a criminal offense is entitled to "adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defense and to communicate with counsel of his own choosing...."

This case underlines the danger to freedom of expression and other individual rights of the international campaign to protect Islam or other religions from "defamation." In March of this year, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution calling on United Nations member states to take measures to halt so-called "defamation of religion," and a similar resolution currently is working its way through the UN General Assembly. In Sudan and other countries which criminalize "insulting" religion, the practical effect is all too often the miscarriage of justice such as the case in question. Defamation of religion laws clearly violate guarantees of international treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Sudan has ratified. These human rights instruments guarantee to everyone the right to freedom of expression, as well as freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief. Moreover, the Sudanese laws appear to subordinate individual rights in the name of protecting religion.

The Commission has made a number of recommendations on U.S. policy toward Sudan, including that the U.S. government urge Sudan's Government of National Unity to end official accusations of blasphemy, apostasy, "offending Islam," or similar charges used to stifle debate or restrict the right to freedom of expression. For a full description of the Commission's views on Sudan, including a comprehensive set of recommendations for U.S. policy, please see the Sudan chapter in the Commission's most recent  Annual Report .

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 29, 2007

Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240

WASHINGTON-The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is gravely concerned by this week's decision of the Vietnamese Appeals Court to keep human rights defenders and religious freedom advocates Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan behind bars and calls for their immediate and unconditional release. A Commission delegation was permitted to meet with the two lawyers in prison during its visit to Vietnam last month.

The Appeals Court on Monday reduced Dai's sentence from five to four years and Cong Nhan's sentence from four to three years. The reduced sentences mean that Dai and Cong Nhan will be eligible for amnesty sooner than they would be under the original sentences, though any releases are likely to be followed by "house arrest" sentences of four and three years respectively.

Both lawyers were sentenced under Article 88 of the Vietnamese Criminal Code for "conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." The charges were applied because of their peaceful exercise of the universally guaranteed rights to freedom of expression, association, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief. The alleged crimes included sending information abroad to human rights organizations, reportedly about the status of respect for these fundamental freedoms.

"The Commission is convinced that these two courageous young people should not be in prison. The Appeals Court verdict confirms that the Vietnamese government does not respect the internationally guaranteed rights available to individuals motivated by their religion or conscience to express views about freedom and reform, rights that are protected by international human rights law and Vietnam's own Constitution," said Michael Cromartie, Chair of the Commission, who led the delegation to Vietnam.

The two rights defenders had been jailed since March at the Cau Dien Commune temporary detention facility outside Hanoi. During the prison visit, Commissioners learned that Dai and Cong Nhan were unable to receive needed medicines and requested religious materials. The Commission arranged for them to receive religious materials and prison authorities are now allowing needed medicine for Dai. During the visit, the Commission appealed for their unconditional release and was informed that an appeal was going to be heard.

Since the USCIRF delegation's return from Vietnam, the Commission has continued to press Vietnamese officials for the release of Dai and Cong Nhan.

"We are disappointed by the Appeals Court decision because we believed this was an opportunity for Vietnam's legal system to show its commitment to uphold international human rights obligations, including fair trial obligations, particularly since Vietnam was recently elected to a seat on the UN Security Council," Cromartie said.

Vietnam's implementation of its international human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has been criticized by the UN Human Rights Committee as incompatible with the obligations of the convention. The result is that people in Vietnam who express views and write about human rights and democracy-and the freedoms required to fulfill them-have been arrested arbitrarily and sentenced to jail terms.

"We will continue to seek the immediate and unconditional release of both Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan, and call for the release of all Vietnamese human rights defenders who have been jailed under similar circumstances," Cromartie said. "We believe their peaceful monitoring of and advocacy for political reform, religious freedom, and other human rights strengthens rather than threatens the Vietnamese state."

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov. 28, 2007

Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom will hold a public hearing to examine how religious freedom abuses perpetuated by the Burmese military contribute to violent repression of peaceful dissent, ongoing abuses against ethnic minorities, and regional instability. The hearing also will assess recent U.N. diplomatic efforts as well as U.S. policy options for bringing about democratic change in Burma.

The witnesses are:

• Paul Rush, F24 News, an eyewitness to the demonstrations and subsequent crackdown
• Ashin Nayaka, Columbia University, an exiled Burmese monk and Buddhist scholar
• Aung Din, US Campaign on Burma
• Chris Lewa, Arakan Project
• Salai Bawi Lian, Chin Human Rights Organization
• Michael Green, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Jared Genser, Freedom Now

RSVP to  [email protected]

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress.

Michael Cromartie,Chair•Preeta D. Bansal,Vice Chair•Richard D. Land, Vice Chair•Don Argue•Imam Talal Y. Eid•Felice D. Gaer•Leonard A. Leo•Elizabeth H. Prodromou•Nina Shea•Ambassador John V. Hanford III,Ex-Officio