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Imran Ghafur Masih was imprisoned for blasphemy.

On July 1, 2009, authorities arrested Masih after he was accused of burning a Qur'an.  Following the accusation, a mob attacked Masih…

Zafar Bhatti was imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy.

On July 22, 2012, authorities arrested Bhatti, a pastor, after he was accused of sending text messages insulting the Prophet…

Humayun Faisal was detained for blasphemy.

On May 24, 2015, authorities arrested Faisal after he was accused of burning newspapers containing Qur'anic texts on them. Faisal was reportedly…

Nabeel Masih was imprisoned for blasphemy.

On September 18, 2016, authorities arrested Masih - a minor at the time - after he was accused of posting content on Facebook insulting the Kaaba.…

Asif Stephen was detained for blasphemy. 

On August 12, 2017, authorities arrested Stephen - a minor at the time - after he was accused of burning pages of the Qur'an.  A mob…

Saleem Masih was detained for blasphemy.

On June 15, 2019, authorities arrested Masih after a relative accused him of burning pages of the Qur'an.  He was reportedly charged with "…

Shahbaz Masih was detained for blasphemy.

On December 27, 2019, authorities arrested Masih and his friend, Muhammad Ishaq, and charged them with "desecrating the Qur'an" (Sec. 295-B PPC).…

Hamid Soudad was imprisoned for his expression about religion.

On January 20, 2021, Soudad was arrested for insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad reportedly…

Ubaydulla Murtazoyev was imprisoned for discussing his religion on social media.

On September 5, 2019, authorities detained Murtazoyev for allegedly storing with the purpose of distributing…

Azimjon Abdusamatov was imprisoned for discussing his religion on social media.

Between August and October 2019, authorities originally arrested Abdusamatov alongside seven others for…

Sajjad Masih Gill was imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy.

On an unspecified date, authorities arrested Gill, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist community, after he was…

Mariyum Lal was detained for blasphemy.

On April 9, 2021, authorities arrested Lal, who is a nurse, and her coworker, Newsh Arooj, after an incident at their workplace. According to…

Newsh Arooj was detained for blasphemy.

On April 9, 2021, authorities arrested Arooj, who is a nurse, and her coworker, Mariyum Lal, after an incident at their workplace. According to…

Anas Hassan was imprisoned for his alleged atheistic activity.

In August 2019, authorities arrested Hassan for allegedly running the Facebook page, "The Egyptian Atheists," and charged him…

Nazim Abdrakhmanov was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

On October 27, 2018, authorities arrested Abdrakhmanov for participating in a WhatsApp group chat about Islam…

Samat Adilov was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

On October 27, 2018, authorities arrested Adilov for participating in a WhatsApp group chat about Islam.

On…

Zhasulan Iskakov was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

On October 27, 2018, authorities arrested Iskakov for participating in a WhatsApp group chat about Islam.…

Esim Suleimenov was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

On October 27, 2018, authorities arrested Suleimenov for participating in a WhatsApp group chat about Islam.…

Azamat Umbetaliyev was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

On October 27, 2018, authorities arrested Umbetaliyev for participating in a WhatsApp group chat about…

Zhuldyzbek Taurbekov was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

On October 27, 2018, authorities arrested Taurbekov for participating in a WhatsApp group chat about…

Dilmurat Sultanmuratovich Makhamatov was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

On December 19, 2018, Kazakh authorities arrested Makhamatov after reportedly forcing…

Galymzhan Abilkairov was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

On April 23, 2018, authorities arrested Abilkairov reportedly following an investigation into sermons he…

Muhammad Ishaq was detained for blasphemy.

On December 27, 2019, authorities arrested Ishaq and his friend, Shahbaz Masih, and charged them with "desecrating the Qur'an" (Sec. 295-B PPC).…

Raja Waris was detained for alleged blasphemy.

In December 2020, authorities arrested Waris, a pastor, after he was accused of committing blasphemy on Facebook. They charged him with "…

Salamat Mansha Masih was detained for blasphemy.

On February 13, 2021, authorities arrested Masih and charged him with "intending to outrage religious feelings" (Sec. 295-A PPC), "…

Danish Ali was detained for blasphemy.

On an unspecified date, authorities arrested Ali after he was accused of insulting to the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad during an argument with his…

Shohida Mamadjonova was imprisoned for her religious association.

In February 2022, authorities forcibly disappeared Mamadjonova, the mother of religious freedom advocate Sherzod …

Fahad Shah was detained for reporting on religious freedom conditions. 

On February 4, 2022, authorities arrested Shah, journalist and editor of the news website The Kashmir Walla,…

Rinchen Tsultrim was imprisoned for criticizing state policies restricting religious freedom.

On August 1, 2019, security officials in Ngaba (Aba) County, Ngaba (Aba) Tibetan &…

Apollinaris Darmawan was imprisoned for his religious expression.

In August 2020, Bandung police arrested Darmawan after he was accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad and Islam on social…

Noushin Jafari was imprisoned for blasphemy.

In August 2019, authorities arrested Jafari, a photojournalist and culture reporter, after accusing her of running a Twitter account that…

Dadash Mazhenov was imprisoned for posting online religious content.

On April 23, 2018, authorities arrested Mazhenov in relation to posts he made online containing religious sermons in 2015…

Lina Alsharif was detained in relation to religious freedom advocacy.

In May 2021, officials from the Saudi Presidency of State Security raided Alsharif’s home in Riyadh, arrested her, and…

Asmaa al-Subaie is detained for her women’s rights activism critical of state-imposed religious systems.

In June 2021, authorities affiliated with the Presidency of State Security arrested…

Le Thanh Hoan Nguyen was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

On January 4, 2022, authorities searched the THIÊN AM BÊN BỜ VŨ TRỤ (TABBVT) Buddhist Monastery (also known as…

Cao Thi Cuc was imprisoned for her religious activity and expression.

On May 12, 2022, authorities arrested Cao Thi Cuc, a member of the THIÊN AM BÊN BỜ VŨ TRỤ (TABBVT) Buddhist Monastery (…

Sepideh Rashnu was detained for resisting state-imposed religious dress.

On July 16, 2022, authorities arrested Rashnu following an altercation on a bus between a woman, who was…

Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani was imprisoned for her human rights work in support of the LGBTQI+ community.

On October 27, 2021, authorities detained Sedighi-Hamadani in Urumieh,…

Salma al-Shehab was imprisoned for her women's rights activism opposing state-imposed religious systems as well as her religious identity.

On January 15, 2021, authorities arrested al-…

Oleg Danilov was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On March 30, 2021, the Krasnodar Territory Abinsky District Court sentenced Danilov to three years in prison for “…

Rhoda Jatau was detained for blasphemy.

On May 20, 2022, authorities in Bauchi state arrested Jatau after riots broke out in response to a perceived blasphemous message she sent on…

Atash Shahkarami was detained for speaking out about the disappearance and murder of an anti-hijab protester.

On October 2, 2022, security forces arrested Shahkarami after she spoke with…

Ioann Kurmoyarov was imprisoned for his religious beliefs.

On June 7, 2022, authorities arrested Kurmoyarov, a hieromonk, after he posted several videos on his YouTube channel outlining…

Maksim Morozov was detained for his religious belief and activity.

On August 6, 2021, authorities arrested Morozov after accusing him of "convening and holding meetings of its members and…

Yuriy Usanov was detained for his religious belief and activity.

On April 2, 2021, authorities arrested Usanov from his home after accusing him of "convening and holding meetings of its…

Roy Suryo was imprisoned for blasphemy.

On August 5, 2022, police arrested Suryo, the former Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, for tweeting out an image of President Joko…

Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo was detained for his religious conversion.

On December 15, 2021, authorities arrested Abdo, a Yemeni refugee, from his Cairo home. Abdo's arrest followed his…

Reyhaneh Pakzad was detained in relation to her religious belief and activity.

In January 2023, authorities in Zahedan reportedly arrested Pakzad for being Baha'i and supporting…

Ghazal Pakzad was detained in relation to her religious belief.

In January 2023, authorities in Zahedan reportedly arrested Pakzad for being Baha'i and supporting nationwide protests…

Matin Gorji was detained in relation to his religious belief and activity. 

On January 8, 2023, authorities in Qaemshahr reportedly arrested Gorji, a Baha'i. Authorities…

Hani Gibran was detained for criticizing religious freedom conditions.

On June 4, 2022, police arrested Gibran after he posted about the targeting of the Coptic Christian community on…

Gratia Pello was imprisoned for his religious expression.

In December 2022, authorities in Surabaya, East Java, reportedly arrested Pello, a professor at a Christian theological school…

Yegor Pogrebnyak was under house arrest for his religious activity.

On March 5, 2023, authorities in Vladivostok detained of several individuals, including Pogrebnyak, and searched their…

Yuriy Bycha was detained for his religious activity.

On March 5, 2023, authorities in Vladivostok detained of several individuals, including Bycha, and searched their homes.…

Sergey Novoselov was detained for his religious activity.

On March 5, 2023, authorities in Vladivostok detained of several individuals, including Novoselov, and searched their homes.…

Kishta Tutinova was under house arrest for her religious belief and activity.

On February 28, 2023, authorities in Elista detained Tutinova after searching her home and confiscating a…

Anwar Kenneth was imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy.

In 2001, authorities reportedly arrested Kenneth after he was accused of writing letters perceived as blasphemous towards…

Jahongir Ulugmurodov was imprisoned for his religious activities.

On an unspecified date, authorities detained Ulugmurodov for downloading and sharing a religious song with some classmates…

Nikolai Bogoslavsky is imprisoned for his religious affiliation.

In April 2023, the City Court of Anapa sentenced Bogoslavsky, pastor of the Evangelical Christ the Savior Church, to 1…

Ahmad Al Malahi was detained for his religious activity.

On May 25, 2023, armed Houthi forces detained 17 Baha’is, including Al Malahi, after raiding a private residence in Sana’a where…

Victor Ticay was imprisoned for covering religious issues.

On April 6, 2023, police arrested and detained Ticay, a journalist, for recording a banned Easter celebration in Nandaime and…

Nathasha Edirisooriya was detained for blasphemy.

On May 27, 2023, police arrested and detained Edirisooriya after receiving a complaint that she made jokes insulting to Buddhism and…

Yurii Herashchenko was under house arrest for his religious activity. 

On March 22, 2023, Russian authorities arrested Herashchenko, a resident of Crimea, Ukraine, after accusing…

Sergei Parfenovich was under house arrest for his religious activity. 

On September 28, 2022, Russian authorities in Krasnogvardeiskoe, Crimea, Ukraine, arrested Parfenovich…

Raja Amir was detained for blasphemy.

In August 2023, police arrested Amir after rumors circulated alleging that he and his brother tore pages from a Quran and wrote derogatory comments on…

Gabriela Morales was detained in relation to a crackdown on religious institutions.

On August 19, 2023, police detained Morales, who was a student at the Jesuit Juan Pablo II University.…

Freylin Axarael Moreno Ponce was detained for his religious expression.

On June 2, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested Moreno Ponce after he asked, on social media, for prayers for…

Freddy Quezada was imprisoned for criticizing religious freedom conditions.

On November 29, 2023, the Nicaraguan authorities arrested Quezada, a professor, after he criticized the…

Asadullo Madraimov is imprisoned for his criticism of religious freedom violations. 

In October 2023, Kyrgyz authorities arrested Madraimov for participating in a video that protested…

Mamirzhan Tashmatov was imprisoned for his criticism of religious freedom violations. 

On October 18, 2023, Kyrgyz authorities arrested Madraimov for participating in a video that…

Assad bin Nasser al-Ghamdi was sentenced on religious-based charges related to social media activity criticizing the Saudi government, including the authorities’ sidelining of the Saudi religious…

Narges Nasri was detained for her religious conversion.

In November 2024, Iranian intelligence authorities detained Nasri after raiding her Tehran home, during which they confiscated…