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September 01, 2016
Sep 1, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As President Obama soon will visit Laos to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today urged the President to raise religious freedom concerns in the country.
“As the first U.S. president to visit Laos, President Obama has a unique opportunity to raise directly religious freedom concerns with the Lao government,” said Chair Thomas J. Reese, S.J. “While Laos has myriad human rights challenges, especially troubling are the policies and decrees at the central and local levels of government that restrict religious practices and undermine not only the Lao constitution but also international human rights standards.”
During a February 2016 visit to Laos, USCIRF staff found a mixed picture. Some religious minority groups reported that their improving relations with the government have given them more space in which to practice their faith. However, others continue to experience harassment, forced evictions, pressure to renounce their faith, and detention and imprisonment. The government or a government-aligned body also must give prior approval to most religious activities and practices, including constructing houses of worship, appointing religious personnel, and printing religious materials.
Christians generally experience the most government restrictions and discrimination in this Buddhist-majority nation due to the government’s suspicion of Christianity as “Western” or “American.” In 2015, local authorities detained or threatened with jail several Christians in Khammouane Province. And in Luang Prabang Province, assailants stabbed to death a pastor whom local officials repeatedly pressured to stop preaching and spreading Christianity.
USCIRF placed Laos on its Tier 2 list in its 2016 Annual Report. In Tier 2 countries, the violations the government engages in or tolerates are serious and characterized by at least one of the elements of International Religious Freedom Act’s “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” standard. For more information, please refer to the Laos chapter in USCIRF’s 2016 Report (in English and in Lao).
To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at media@uscirf.gov or 202-786-0615.
March 23, 2020
Mar 23, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 23, 2020
USCIRF Deplores Houthi Order to Execute Hamid bin Haydara and Dissolve Baha’i Institutions in Yemen
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) decries Sunday’s verdict by a Houthi Appeals court that re-affirms a death sentence against Yemeni Baha’i leader and USCIRF religious prisoner of conscience Hamid bin Haydara. The court also upheld a decision ordering the dissolution of Baha’i institutions in Yemen.
“Houthi authorities must immediately release Hamid bin Haydara and cease their persecution of Baha’is,” said USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore who advocates for Mr. bin Haydara as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. “We condemn this verdict and urge Democrats and Republicans to press the Houthis to release Mr. bin Haydara and drop the spurious charges against members of Yemen’s Baha’i community.”
On December 3, 2013, Houthi authorities arrested and detained bin Haydara, holding him without charges in a prison for more than a year. In January 2015, he was charged falsely with spying for Israel, teaching literacy classes deemed incompatible with Islam, and attempting to convert Muslims. A judge sentenced bin Haydara to death on January 2, 2018 and ordered the closure of Baha’i institutions. After a series of hearings and delayed rulings throughout 2019, a Houthi appeals court upheld this verdict on March 22, 2020. Twenty-four other members of Yemen’s Baha’i community face charges as well, some of which carry a penalty of capital punishment.
“This alarming decision is an egregious violation of religious freedom and the fundamental rights of Yemeni Baha’is,” stated USCIRF Vice Chair Gayle Manchin. “USCIRF has been long concerned with the welfare of Mr. bin Haydara and the Yemeni Baha’i community. We call on Houthi authorities to immediately reverse this verdict and cease their baseless persecution of this peaceful religious minority.”
USCIRF recommended the Houthis as an entity of particular concern (EPC) in its 2019 Annual Report.
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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 threats to 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 media@uscirf.gov or Danielle Ashbahian at dashbahian@uscirf.gov.
January 03, 2019
Jan 3, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Andy Khawaja, Commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today announced his adoption of Hamid Kamal Mohammad bin Haydara, a Yemeni member of the Baha’i faith sentenced to death on charges that include attempting to convert Muslims, as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project.
“I call on Houthi authorities to immediately release Hamid bin Haydara, to grant him access to medical care, and to end the persecution of Baha’i men and women in Yemen,” said Khawaja. “The Houthi disbandment of the Baha’i community in Yemen and detention of several Baha’i Yemenis on spurious charges is an intolerable attack on religious freedom.”
In 2013, authorities linked to the Houthi-run National Security Bureau arrested and detained Haydara initially without charges. Haydara virtually disappeared until September 2, 2014, when his wife, Ilham Zara’i, was finally permitted to visit him.
He was held in a prison in the middle of a conflict zone, with limited his access to adequate healthcare, until January 8, 2015, when the official charges finally came. These included allegations of being a spy for Israel, attempting to make certain locations within Yemen a homeland for the followers of the Baha’i Faith, offering literacy classes that followed a curriculum deemed incompatible with Islam, and attempting to convert Muslims to the Baha’i Faith. After a 3-year delay in sentencing, on January 2, 2018, a judge condemned Haydara to death. He remains imprisoned and the Houthi Court of Appeals has scheduled the next hearing for Haydara on January 29, 2019.
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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 threats to 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 Media@USCIRF.gov or Kellie Boyle at kboyle@uscirf.gov or +1-703-898-6554.
January 24, 2020
Jan 24, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 24, 2020
USCIRF Honors International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Cautions Against Rising Anti-Semitism
WASHINGTON, DC – On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27th, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) honors the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the millions of other victims of Nazism, and calls on the international community to make greater strides in combatting rising anti-Semitism. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the notorious Nazi death camp.
“This anniversary serves as a reminder of how unchecked anti-Semitism has led to atrocities,” said USCIRF Chair Tony Perkins. “Jewish people around the world still experience discrimination, name calling, vandalism of synagogues and cemeteries, hate speech on the Internet, and violent attacks. The Holocaust did not happen overnight; we must heed these early warning signs of increasing intolerance. All who value religious freedom must stand firmly against anti-Semitism and other forms of religious hatred to prevent the horrors of the Holocaust from being repeated.”
USCIRF’s recent activities to highlight this troubling trend include a seminar on Capitol Hill in July and a hearing earlier this month that featured the testimonies of several prominent scholars and activists, including Dr. Deborah Lipstadt, whose book about her legal battle against a leading Holocaust denier was made into the 2016 movie, “Denial.” (Hearing summary here.)
“We can no more deny the rise in anti-Semitism around the world than we can deny the facts of the Holocaust,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Gayle Manchin. “But with the benefit of both hindsight and foresight, we can identify anti-Semitism, we can trace its insidious sources, and we can craft strong foreign policy responses so that ‘never again’ holds true.”
In order to more vigorously confront the scourge of anti-Semitism, USCIRF recommends that the U.S. government should:
- Ensure that combatting anti-Semitism is a key priority of the International Religious Freedom Alliance once it is launched;
- Encourage foreign governments to create positions similar to the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism;
- Urge the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General to create a position in his office to engage with Jewish communities worldwide and to monitor and report on anti-Semitism globally; and
- Provide technical support to foreign law enforcement officials to update and standardize hate crime reporting procedures to ensure the accurate collection and dissemination of data on anti-Semitic and other hate crimes.
October 13, 2019
Oct 13, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 13, 2019
WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is alarmed over reports that a Houthi court in Yemen may deport and confiscate the assets of its Baha’i citizens. A Houthi judge has called for an appraisal of the Baha’i community’s assets ahead of an October 15 court hearing for its leader, Hamid bin Haydara, who was adopted in 2018 by USCIRF Commissioner Andy Khawaja as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoner of Conscience Project.
“I am deeply troubled over reports that the Houthis may deport members of the Baha’i community in Yemen,” said Commissioner Khawaja. “Congress and the administration must sound the alarm over the ruthless targeting of this peaceful religious community.”
Houthi forces arrested 60 Baha’is at a festival in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a in 2016. In 2017, they issued arrest warrants for 25 Baha’is on the basis of their religious beliefs. Six Baha’is continue to be detained in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a. Among the detainees is Baha’i community leader Hamid bin Haydara, whose death sentence an appeals court affirmed on September 17, 2019. According to UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Ahmed Shaheed, these trials demonstrate the Houthis’ systematic targeting of members of the Baha’i community, a pattern linked to Iranian influence.
“Iran is not content to contain its cowardly persecution of religious minorities within its own borders,” said USCIRF Chair Tony Perkins. “Iran must immediately cease its exportation of religious intolerance to Yemen and the Houthis must end their persecution of Baha’is, immediately drop all charges against members of that community, and set free Baha’is who have been unjustly imprisoned.”
Houthi authorities arrested Hamid bin Haydara in 2013 and charged him with spying for Israel, trying to create a Baha’i homeland in Yemen, teaching ideas that are incompatible with Islam, and attempting to convert Muslims. Houthis have also targeted the Baha’i community in Yemen as a whole. For example, in September 2019, a Houthi prosecutor asked an appeals court to affirm a lower court’s decision to “immediately deport” Baha’is from Yemen, ban their re-entry, and restrict them from expressing their religious beliefs. USCIRF recommended the Houthis as an entity of particular concern (EPC) in its 2019 Annual Report.
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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 threats to 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 Media@USCIRF.gov or Dwight Bashir at dbashir@uscirf.gov or (202) 523-3240.
October 29, 2018
Oct 29, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 29, 2018
USCIRF Calls on Yemen to Release Persecuted Baha’is
The accused include eight women and a teenage girl and the penalty for many is death
WASHINGTON, DC — Tenzin Dorjee, Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today expressed increasing concern over the mounting persecution of Baha’is in Yemen by the Houthi-controlled government.
“I am gravely concerned for the safety of members of Yemen’s Baha’i community,” said Chair Dorjee. “This persecution on the basis of religious identity is unconscionable and must stop immediately. USCIRF calls for the unconditional release and dropping of all charges against members of Yemen’s peaceful Baha’i community.”
On September 15, 2018, the Houthi-controlled Specialized Criminal Court in Sana’a, Yemen issued an indictment against 22 Baha’is alleging apostasy and espionage. The accused include eight women and a teenage girl. The penalty for many of these charges is death. Five Baha’is remain in detention. On October 11, Abdullah al-Olfi, spokesman for the Baha’i in Yemen, was also detained and released three days later.
In January 2018, USCIRF noted with deep concern that since 2017, the larger Baha’i community in Yemen had faced a proliferation of mass arrests, raids on homes and offices, forced closure of community organizations, and hostility from officials. USCIRF also reiterates its strong condemnation of a death sentence against prominent Yemeni Baha’i leader Hamid bin Haydara. Mr. bin Haydara was arrested in December 2013 by Yemen’s National Security Bureau, which beat him and tortured him using electric shock. On January 2, 2018, the judge sentenced Mr. bin Haydara to public execution. The verdict also ordered the confiscation of Mr. bin Haydara’s assets and the dissolution of local Baha’i institutions. Mr. bin Haydara remains on death row.
“USCIRF calls on Houthi authorities to annul the death sentence against Hamid bin Haydara, drop all charges against and cease targeting members of Yemen’s Baha’i community,” added Chair Dorjee.
In addition, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback last month called on the Houthis to drop all charges against Yemeni Baha’is and allow Yemenis of all beliefs to live in peace. And earlier this month, five United Nations experts called for the release of all those arrested and cessation of the persecution of Yemen’s Baha’i community.
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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 threats to 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 Media@USCIRF.gov or Kellie Boyle at kboyle@uscirf.gov or +1-703-898-6554.
April 09, 2020
Apr 9, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 9, 2020
USCIRF Calls on Houthis in Yemen to Abide by Commitment to Release Hamid bin Haydara
Washington DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urges Houthi authorities to abide by their March 25 public commitment to release Baha’i religious prisoner of conscience Hamid bin Haydara along with 5 other detained Baha’is. USCIRF is concerned by reports suggesting that the Houthi First Specialized Criminal Court will only furlough the prisoners on the grounds of the “ongoing health situation” rather than grant them a full and unconditional release.
“Enough of the delays! The Houthis must implement their commitment to release and drop all charges against Hamid bin Haydara and 5 other detained Yemeni Baha’is,” said USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore, who advocates for Mr. bin Haydara as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. “The Houthis were right to abandon their March 22 decision to impose a death sentence on Mr. bin Haydara and to dissolve Baha’i institutions in Yemen. But, this decision is meaningless if they do not act upon it. It is also time for all persecution of the Baha’is in Yemen to end, now.”
On December 3, 2013, Houthi authorities arrested and detained bin Haydara, holding him without charges in a prison for more than a year. In January 2015, he was charged falsely with spying for Israel, teaching literacy classes deemed incompatible with Islam, and attempting to convert Muslims. A judge sentenced bin Haydara to death on January 2, 2018 and ordered the closure of Baha’i institutions. After a series of hearings and delayed rulings throughout 2019, a Houthi appeals court upheld this verdict on March 22, 2020. On March 25, however, the Houthi Supreme Political Council announced that they would release Mr. bin Haydara and 5 other members of Yemen’s Baha’i community.
“The Houthi commitment to freedom for Mr. bin Haydara was made unequivocally, and it must be enacted without delay,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Gayle Manchin. “Mr. bin Haydara must now be released and returned to his family.”
USCIRF recommended the designation of the Houthi movement as an entity of particular concern (EPC) in its 2019 Annual Report.
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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 threats to 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 media@uscirf.gov or Danielle Ashbahian at dashbahian@uscirf.gov
July 01, 2019
Jul 1, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 1, 2019
USCIRF Calls on Houthi Court in Yemen to Overturn Death Sentence for Religious Prisoner of Conscience Hamid bin Haydara
WASHINGTON, DC – Andy Khawaja, Commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), today called on the Houthi appellate court to overturn the death sentence, to drop all charges, and to release religious prisoner of conscience Hamid bin Haydara at tomorrow’s hearing. A member of Yemen’s Baha’i community, Mr. Haydara was sentenced to death in January 2018 on charges that include apostasy.
“Mr. Haydara’s case is an egregious violation of justice based on the Houthis’ intolerance of Baha’is and other religious minorities in Yemen,” said Khawaja, who advocates on behalf of Mr. Haydara as part of USCIRF’s Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project. “He has been deprived of his liberty and dignity simply because he had been seeking to live according to his beliefs.”
On December 3, 2013, Houthi authorities arrested and detained Mr. Haydara, holding him without charges in a prison for more than a year. In January 2015, he was charged falsely with spying for Israel, teaching literacy classes deemed incompatible with Islam and attempting to convert Muslims. A judge sentenced Mr. Haydara to death on January 2, 2018. He is one of six prominent Yemeni Baha’i leaders currently detained on spurious charges.
In its 2019 Annual Report, USCIRF, for the first time, recommended designating the Houthis in Yemen an “entity of particular concern,” or EPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act, based on the group’s egregious violations of religious freedom in 2018. The State Department designated the Houthis an EPC in November 2018.
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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 threats to 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 Media@USCIRF.gov or Kellie Boyle at kboyle@uscirf.gov or +1-703-898-6554.
October 09, 2019
Oct 9, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 9, 2019
USCIRF Responds to Yom Kippur Attack in Germany
Washington, DC (Oct. 9, 2019) – Based on emerging reports of the killing of at least two people near a synagogue and Jewish cemetery in Halle, Germany today on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Tony Perkins, Vice Chair Gayle Manchin, and Commissioner Johnnie Moore issued the following statements:
“We are appalled by reports of an attack near a Jewish religious site on one of the Jewish high holy days. While USCIRF primarily focuses its work on other parts of the world where egregious religious violations routinely occur, we have become increasingly concerned about the rise in anti-Semitic activity across Europe,” said Chair Perkins.
“Today’s brazen attack on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar right outside of a synagogue in Halle is yet another terrible wake-up call to all of those in Europe and around the world who continue to be in denial about the resurgence of this age-old hatred against the Jewish people,” said Vice Chair Manchin, noting that USCIRF will be holding a hearing on protecting houses of worship on October 23rd at 3pm in Room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.
“These incidents must stop and European leaders must become more vigilant in protecting Europe’s Jewish minorities, and we – at USCIRF – are putting the European Union on notice: you must do more to ensure your Jewish communities are safe and that the anti-Semitism festering within your borders is addressed,” said Commissioner Moore.
USCIRF Commissioner Gary L. Bauer hosted a summer seminar on anti-Semitism. To view remarks and factsheets, click here.
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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 threats to 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 Media@USCIRF.gov or Dwight Bashir at dbashir@uscirf.gov or +1-703-898-6554.
May 06, 2020
May 6, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 6, 2020
USCIRF Releases New Report on Religious Freedom Conditions in Laos
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new country update on religious freedom conditions in Laos following a staff delegation to the country in February 2020:
Laos Factsheet - This report provides a country update on religious freedom conditions in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. In 2016, the Lao government updated its regulation of religious freedom with the Decree on Management and Protection of Religious Activities, known as Decree 315. Despite the clarifications this decree provided, as well as efforts by the central authorities, religious freedom conditions in Laos remain of concern. All official faith communities must keep active communication with local and central religious authorities to function and operate, including in appointing leaders and in organizing faith-based activities. Unofficial faith communities struggle to obtain government recognition, and therefore legally cannot operate. This report examines the ongoing issues and barriers Laos faces to realize its international commitments to freedom of religious and belief.
Since 2009, USCIRF had placed Laos in its Tier 2 category, which was for governments that engaged in or tolerated serious religious violations. Beginning with the 2020 Annual Report, USCIRF replaced Tier 2 with recommendations for the State Department’s Special Watch List (SWL), which requires that the government engaged in or tolerated severe religious freedom violations, a higher standard. As a result of this change, Laos does not appear in the 2020 Annual Report, though religious freedom conditions remain a concern.
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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 threats to 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 media@uscirf.gov or Danielle Ashbahian at dashbahian@uscirf.gov.