Feb 24, 2021
USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel Adopts New Religious Prisoner of Conscience from Tajikistan
Washington, DC –United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Commissioner Nury Turkel today announced his adoption of Shamil Khakimov, who he will advocate for as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. Mr. Khakimov is a 70-year-old Jehovah’s Witness from Tajikistan enduring a lengthy prison sentence for his peaceful religious practice.
“The Tajikistani government is treating Shamil Khakimov in an appalling way,” said USCIRF Commissioner Turkel. “Since 2019, this ailing, elderly man has been languishing in a decrepit and overcrowded prison on a bogus seven-and-a-half year prison sentence. This term could very well represent a death sentence for a man wrongly imprisoned for peacefully practicing his religious beliefs as a Jehovah’s Witness.”
Mr. Khakimov has high blood pressure and was still recovering from major surgery at the time of his arrest on February 26, 2019. Tajikistani prisons are notoriously harsh, with torture and inhumane conditions widely reported. While in prison, Mr. Khakimov has been forbidden from reading his Bible. After his scheduled release in 2025 at the age of 74, his sentence will forbid him from participating in religious services for an additional three years.
“Tajikistani authorities are essentially destroying this man’s life because of his faith. Such atrocious violations cannot be tolerated if Tajikistan has any interest in improving its record on religious freedom,” Commissioner Turkel added.
USCIRF recently reported on the Tajikistani government’s widespread misuse of extremism laws, as well as and its treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Global Persecution of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. In its 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. government designate Tajikistan as a “country of particular concern” for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.
USCIRF will be holding a virtual event on religious prisoners of conscience on Thursday, February 25th at 11:00 am ET, and will feature Shamil Khakimov.
###
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] or Danielle Ashbahian at [email protected].
USCIRF ADVOCATE: Nury Turkel
Advocacy:
Press Release: USCIRF Vice Chair Nury Turkel Calls on Tajikistan to Release Shamil Khakimov, February 25, 2022Press Release: Tajikistan’s Inhumane Treatment of Religious Prisoner Indicative of Deteriorating Religious Freedom Conditions, October 15, 2021
Event: FoRB Victims List and Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project Update, February 25, 2021
Press Release: USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel Adopts New Religious Prisoner of Conscience from Tajikistan, February 24, 2021
Country:
TajikistanCharges:
"inciting religious hatred”
Sentence:
5 Years' Imprisonment
Detained Since:
Feb 26, 2019
Release Date:
May 16, 2023
Biography:
Seventy year-old Shamil Khakimov is one of 24 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Khujand and nearby towns in northern Tajikistan interrogated by the Department of Organized Crime Control in late January and early February. After detaining him for eight hours, they seized his personal belongings including his passport. Without his passport, he was unable to access his pension funds to continue the medical care he needed to recover from a recent leg surgery.
Authorities arrested 68-year-old Khakimov for sharing his faith with others. After he was charged, the court placed him in pretrial detention for over six months. In September 2019, the Khujand City Court sentenced Khakimov to seven and a half years in prison. The court also imposed a three-year ban on his religious activity after he completes his sentence. He lost an appeal on October 9, 2019.
In March 2021, Khakimov's original 7.5-year sentence was reduced by two years, three months, and ten days. He was informed via letter that his term was commuted as a result of Tajikistan’s amnesty law.
In September 2021, Khakimov's sentence was reduced another year. His projected release date is now May 16, 2023.
In October 2021, Forum 18 reported that Khakimov's health had deteriorated greatly. At the time of his arrest, he was still recovering from major surgery. Now that leg which was operated on is now covered with open sores and is worsening. In addition to suffering from high blood pressure, Khakimov has also reportedly shown symptoms of COVID-19.
Moreover, Khakimov is under severe emotional distress due to the death of his son in September 2021. His son was the only visitor allowed to see him, and Khakimov was not permitted to attend his funeral.
On May 16, 2023, Khakimov was released from prison after completing his sentence.
Feb 22, 2021
USCIRF Releases New Report about Santería in Cuba
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following factsheet on the Santería tradition in Cuba:
Factsheet on the Santería Tradition in Cuba - This factsheet provides a brief overview of the traditions of the Santería community in Cuba and highlights the religious freedom violations that community experiences. Santería is a syncretic religion from Cuba that incorporates elements of Catholicism with the religion of the Yoruba people from West Africa. An estimated 70 percent of Cuba’s 11 million people perform some type of Afro-Cuban practice, including many of the country’s Catholics. Despite the religion’s prevalence, the Cuban government frequently violates the freedom of religion or belief of independent Santería communities in a range of ways, including ongoing harassment, attempts to co-opt the faith for political purposes, and restrictions on members’ ability to worship in private homes. Members of unregistered Santería communities, particularly the Free Yorubas, are particularly vulnerable and face ongoing threats of criminal sanctions. These violations are emblematic of the tactics used by the Cuban government to control faith and suppress independent religious communities.
In its 2020 Annual Report (also available in Spanish), USCIRF recommended that the U.S. State Department place Cuba on its Special Watch List (SWL) for its ongoing and systematic religious freedom violations. In December 2020, the State Department followed this recommendation.
###
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] .