Jul 15, 2021
USCIRF Denounces Nigerian Religious Police Arrests of LGBTI Persons
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today denounced the arrest of five men suspected of engaging in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex (LGBTI) activity in northern Nigeria. Kano state’s Hisbah Board, which enforces an official government interpretation of Shari’a law and has limited powers, conducted the arrest.
“Kano authorities remain some of the most problematic violators of religious freedom in Nigeria,” said USCIRF Chair Nadine Maenza. “The U.S. government needs to develop an engagement strategy to address these violations at the state level, including engaging diplomatically with Kano state officials to advocate for stronger religious freedom protections and enacting targeted sanctions where necessary.”
Kano’s religious Shari’a code punishes individuals convicted of LGBTI activity with lashings, prison time, or death by stoning, although there are no known cases of the latter. Hisbah brigades are state-sanctioned entities responsible for enforcing Shari’a law, which includes imposing religious precepts on the broader society regardless of individual beliefs. A 2019 USCIRF report found evidence that Hisbah brigades in Kano state also discriminated against religious minorities, including Christians and Shi’a Muslims.
Kano authorities have a track record of infringing on citizens’ rights to freedom of religion or belief, such as the continued detainment of humanist activist Mubarak Bala without charge despite a federal court order for his release. The Kano government has also detained several individuals on blasphemy charges, including Yahaya Sharif Aminu, a 23-year-old Muslim gospel musician accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a private social media message. USCIRF advocates for both Mr. Bala and Mr. Sharif Aminu through its Religious Prisoners of Conscience (RPOC) project.
“A recent USCIRF report found that imposing harsh penalties for LGBTI activity justified by interpretations of Shari’a violates the right to freedom of religion or belief,” said USCIRF Commissioner Frederick A. Davie. “Nigerians have the right to hold and follow diverse views on religious precepts, including regarding sexuality, without government interference and violence. These men should be released immediately and unconditionally.”
In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State redesignate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, for engaging in and tolerating ongoing, systematic, and egregious violations of international religious freedom. The State Department designated Nigeria as a CPC for the first time in December 2020. Additionally, USCIRF has produced recent analyses on the Enforcement of Blasphemy Laws around the world, Shari’a Law in Northern Nigeria, and the Use of Shari’a as Religious Justification for Capital Punishment against LGBTI Persons.
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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 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 or belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].
Jul 13, 2021
USCIRF Condemns the Detention of Religious Leaders Amid Protests in Cuba
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) denounced the detention of religious leaders during nationwide protests in Cuba, the largest demonstrations in decades.
“Cuban authorities are detaining religious leaders merely for peacefully protesting and calling for greater respect for human rights,” said USCIRF Commissioner James W. Carr. “Principal among human rights concerns in Cuba are the ongoing and systematic violations of religious freedom, which include the persistent intimidation and harassment of religious leaders. USCIRF urges the United States to impose targeted sanctions on Cuban government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom.”
In response to calls for greater freedom and relief from Cuba’s economic and COVID-19 crises, authorities increased their violent crackdown on demonstrators. Those reported as detained include Yeremi Blanco and Yarian Sierra, two pastors from the Berean Baptist Mission in Matanza and Reverend Yusniel Pérez Montejo of the Eastern Baptist Convention. In addition, authorities reportedly assaulted Father Castor José Álvarez Devesa and detained him incommunicado in Camagüey. Father Álvarez has received backlash for his criticism of the Cuban regime and calls for greater religious freedom in Cuba, including in a 2018 open letter to then President Raúl Castro. Father Álvarez was later released.
“USCIRF calls on the Cuban government to immediately release religious leaders in their custody,” said USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava. “We denounce in the strongest terms the possible use of violence against Father Álvarez, who has long been a strong proponent for religious freedom in Cuba.”
USCIRF recommended in its 2021 Annual Report that the U.S. government again place Cuba on its Special Watch List. In this report, USCIRF raised concern regarding the denial of religious freedom for human rights activists, independent journalists, and protesters particularly in the wake of demonstrations that started in November 2020 calling for greater freedom of expression in Cuba.
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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 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].
Gender: Male
Current Location: Central Prison Peshawar, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Perpetrator: Pakistan
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Ahmadiyya
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: September/13/2021
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Figures)
Nature of Charges: Blasphemy
Abdul Majeed
Extra Bio Info:
Abdul Majeed is detained for blasphemy.
On September 13, 2020, authorities arrested Majeed after charging him with "insulting the Prophet Muhammad" (Sec. 295-C PPC).