Displaying results 21 - 30 of 240

...on blasphemy laws
Many countries around the world have laws that punish expression deemed blasphemous, defamatory of religion, or contemptuous or insulting to religion or religious symbols, figures, or feelings.  The application of these laws has resulted in…
USCIRF Deeply Concerned by Reports of Saudi Death Sentence for Apostasy
Feb 27, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 27, 2015 | USCIRF WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expresses deep concern about reports this week in both Arabic and English language…
USCIRF Letter to Saudi King Salman Requesting the Pardon of Raif Badawi and Waleed Abu al-Khair
Jun 11, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJune 11, 2015 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) wrote to King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia to urge him to pardon Raif Badawi and…
Saudi Arabia Executes Prominent Shi’a Cleric
Jan 5, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 5, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns the execution on January 2 of a prominent Shi’a cleric in Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Nimr al-…
USCIRF Welcomes CPC Designations: Urges Additional Designations and Actions
Apr 20, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 20, 2016   WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes Secretary of State John Kerry’s re-designation on April 15, 2016 of Burma,…
USA Today -- Rampant religious persecution against atheists
May 4, 2016 FOR YOUR INFORMATION May 4, 2016 | Robert P. George and Hannah Rosenthal The following op/ed appeared in USA Today on May 3, 2016   Should it be a crime to deny the existence of God? In the Russian city…
Testimony of USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J., on "Blasphemy Laws and Censorship by States and Non-State Actors"
USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. testified on July 15, 2016 before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing titled "Blasphemy Laws and Censorship by States and Non-State Actors: Examining Global Threats to Freedom of Expression." From the…
SAUDI ARABIA: Release Raif Badawi
Jul 28, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 28, 2016   (USCIRF Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. holds up a picture of Raif Badawi at a July 2016 Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing on blasphemy laws) WASHINGTON, D.C…
INDONESIA: USCIRF Denounces the Recent Conviction and Sentencing of Jakarta’s Governor for Blasphemy
May 12, 2017 INDONESIA: USCIRF Denounces the Recent Conviction and Sentencing of Jakarta’s Governor for BlasphemyUSCIRF Calls for the Release of Those Accused of or Convicted of Blasphemy   Washington, D.C. –  The U.S.…
Deseret News: Make Saudi Arabia's vision of tolerance a reality
Jul 24, 2017 The following op-ed appeared in Deseret News on July 23, 2017 By former USCIRF Commissioner Clifford D. May   Last year, Saudi Arabia unveiled Saudi Vision 2030, a bold plan to transform the kingdom’s oil-…