Oct 29, 2021

USCIRF Releases Factsheet on China’s Measures on the Management of Religious Clergy

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new report:

China Factsheet – This factsheet provides an overview of the new Chinese government Measures on the Management of Religious Clergy and their adverse impact on religious freedom in China. Issued in February 2021 and effective in May 2021, these new measures are part of a series of newly issued regulations that supplement the revised 2018 Regulations on Religious Affairs. The Measures subject clergy of the five state-sanctioned religious groups in China to tighter state control and surveillance. They also impose penalties on clergy who violate a complex web of state rules and policies aimed at curtailing religious freedom. Moreover, the Measures effectively ban religious activity by independent clergy who are not part of the five state-sanctioned religious groups.

Since its first annual report in 2000, USCIRF has recommended that the U.S. State Department designate China as a “Country of Particular Concern,” or CPC, for systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious violations in that country. In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF documented and expressed concern over the Chinese government’s abuses that targeted clergy members of various religious groups.

###

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 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].

Additional Name(s): بهنام اخلاقی

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Iran

Religion or Belief: Christian – Protestant

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Appeal: Acquitted

Sentence: Originally 5 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: July/24/2019

Date of Sentencing: October/13/2019

Date of Release: January/1/2022

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Practicing Religion as a Convert Religious Activity Religious Belief

Nature of Charges: Illegal Assembly Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials

Behnam Akhlaghi

Extra Bio Info:

Behnam Akhlaghi was imprisoned for practicing his religion as a convert.

On February 23, 2019, Akhlaghi was summoned to the Revolutionary Guard office and detained reportedly in relation to his church activity.  Other members of the Church of Iran in Rasht were reportedly arrested around the same time.

In March 2019, Akhlaghi was released on bail pending trial.

On July 24, 2019, Akhlaghi was remanded after reportedly being unable to pay the new bail set by the judge. During this hearing, it is also reported that Akhlaghi was not allowed to choose his own lawyer. 

On October 13, 2019, Akhlaghi was sentenced to five years in prison for “assembling and colluding to act against national security" (Art. 610 IPC).

In March 2020, Akhlaghi's appeal was rejected after he and his lawyer were reportedly not allowed to attend the hearing. 

In October 2021, a video of Akhlaghi discussing his arrest and detention circumstances was published, indicating he had been released on furlough at some point during the COVID-19 pandemic.  In the video, which is said to have been taken on October 1, 2021, Akhlaghi acknowledges the end of his furlough within a few hours and returning to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.

On January 1, 2022, Akhlaghi was reportedly conditionally released from Evin Prison pending a review of his case. 

In February 2022, a court of appeals acquitted Akhlaghi. 

In February 2022, a new case was reportedly opened up against Akhlaghi for "propaganda against the state" (Art. 500 IPC). 

On May 8, 2022, security forces reportedly arrested Akhlaghi in Rasht. He was reportedly released the next day.

Publicly Available Information:

Additional Name(s): Исаев Исмаил Сайпутыевич

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: Russia

Religion or Belief: Unspecified

Reports of Torture: Yes

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Appeal: Rejected

Sentence: 6 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: February/4/2021

Date of Sentencing: February/22/2022

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Criticizing Religious Freedom Conditions LGBTI+ Rights Online Activity Resisting State-Imposed Religious Systems

Nature of Charges: Aid & Abetment

Ismail Isaev

Extra Bio Info:

Ismail Isaev is imprisoned in relation to state-imposition of a particular religious interpretation. 

On February 4, 2021, Isaev and Isaev's sibling, Salekh Magamadov, - two LGBTI+ youths - were kidnapped and forcibly returned to Chechnya. They had fled to Nizhny Novgorod in June 2020 after being allegedly tortured by Chechen police because of their perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. In March 2020, police detained the two and reportedly tortured them over a youth Telegram account they ran in which they criticized Chechen authorities and Islam.

During his detention, Isaev was reportedly denied legal representation of his choosing and forced to sign a false confession.

On February 9, 2021, Isaev was charged with “aiding and abetting an illegal armed group" (Art. 33-5/Art. 208-2 RCC).

Isaev was later placed in pre-trial facility SIZO-2 in Grozny.

On March 23, 2021, Chechen authorities arbitrarily detained 20 of Isaev's relatives in search of Isaev's parents who fled Chechnya to escape official harassment and pressure to kill their children.

On February 22, 2022, the Achkhoi-Martanovsky District Court of Chechnya sentenced Isaev to six years in prison for “aiding and abetting an illegal armed group" (Art. 33-5/Art. 208-2 RCC).

On October 25, 2022, the Fifth Cassation Court in Pyatigorsk upheld Isaev's sentence. 

Related Cases: Salekh Magamadov

Publicly Available Information:
Subscribe to