Raif Badawi was imprisoned for his religious freedom advoacy, expression about religion, and for criticizing religious authorities.

In June 2012, authorities arrested Badawi, a…

Wang Huanhuan was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On July 16, 2014, police from Ningguo City, Anhui Province, detained Wang reportedly in relation to her religious…

Luo Yanping was imprisoned for her religious activity.

On December 11, 2012, officers from the Tonglu County Public Security Bureau in Zhejiang province detained Luo reportedly for…

Xu Zhaoling was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On August 9, 2014, officers from the Public Security Bureau of Wulian county, Rizhao city, Shandong province, detained Xu…

Sun Xia was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On November 5, 2013, authorities detained Sun in Yaohai district, Hefei city, Anhui province, reportedly in relation…

Yan Fenglin was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On November 5, 2013, authorities detained Yan in Yaohai district, Hefei city, Anhui province, reportedly in relation to her…

Wu Binrong was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On May 18, 2013, officers from the Nanjing Municipal Public Security Bureau Jiangning Branch detained Wu reportedly…

Feng Yimei was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

In July 2014, authorities arrested Feng reportedly in relation to her religious beliefs, attending of religious meetings,…

Geng Hongmei was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On August 1, 2015, officers from the the Taixing City Public Security Bureau in Jiangsu province detained Geng reportedly…

Zhou Xiangyun was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On May 17, 2013, police in Yancheng city, Jiangsu province, detained Zhou reportedly in relation to his printing of…

Hu Weijun was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On May 17, 2013, police in Yancheng city, Jiangsu province, detained Hu reportedly in relation to his printing of…

Li Tianhua was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On April 9, 2015, authorities in Wanzhou district, Chongqing municipality detained Li, a leader of the Church of…

Li Xiaochun was imprisoned for distributing religious materials.

In September 2019, authorities arrested Li after catching him handing out Falun-Gong-related materials. 

In…

Li Anqun was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On February 11, 2014, police arrested Li reportedly in relation to her religious beliefs. She had reportedly been…

Zhao Yuelian was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On April 22, 2015, officers from the Taiyuan Public Security Bureau arrested Zhao reportedly in relation to her…

Liu Jishui was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On August 30, 2017, officers from the Liuhe District Branch of Nanjing Public Security Bureau, Jiangsu province, arrested…

Zhu Huiru was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On December 13, 2012, police detained Zhu reportedly in relation to her printing of religious materials.

On March…

Nguyen Bac Truyen was imprisoned for his religious freedom and human rights advocacy.

On July 30, 2017, Truyen, a lawyer and leader of…

Li Yuanyou was imprisoned for her religious activity.

In September 2018, authorities arrested Li for distributing Falun Gong-related materials.

In December 2019, Li was reportedly…

Deng Cuiping was imprisoned for her religious activity.

On July 24, 2016, officers from the Public Security Bureau in Chengjiang County detained Deng and four others for distributing Falun…

Yao Guofu was imprisoned for distributing religious materials.

On December 5, 2015, plainclothes police officers detained Yao and his wife, Liang Xin, from their home in Nanyang…

Liang Xin was imprisoned for distributing religious materials.

On December 5, 2015, plainclothes police officers detained Liang and her husband, Yao Guofu, from their home in Nanyang…

Hu Mingfa is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On August 13, 2014, officers from the Lingyang Police Station of the Public Security Bureau in Qingyang county detained Hu…

Xu Yunxue was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

In August 2014, officers from the Taixing City Public Security Bureau detained Xu reportedly in relation to her handling of…

Yan Shihua was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 27, 2014, authorities detained Yan in Yaohai District, Hefei City, Anhui Province, reportedly in relation to his…

Xu Guixiang was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On January 10, 2018, officers from the Public Security Bureau in the Mosuowan Reclamation Area detained Xu reportedly…

Li Famei was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On March 25, 2017, officers from the the Fuyun County Public Security Bureau arrested Li reportedly in relation to…

A Dao was imprisoned for his religious activity and religious freedom advocacy.

On August 18, 2016, authorities arrested Dao, the pastor of the Montagnard Evangelical Church of Christ…

Yu Shourong was imprisoned for her religious activity. 

In June 2019, authorities arrested Yu for talking to people about Falun Gong in public and distributing Falun Gong-related…

Wei Zaiqiang was imprisoned for his religious activity.

In December 2016, authorities arrested Wei after accusing him of leaving messages about Falun Gong in public areas. Police…

Ye Zhongqiu was imprisoned for her religious activity.

In November 2016, authorities arrested Ye alongside other Falun Gong adherents for passing out Falun Gong calendars. 

In…

Tohir Djumanov was imprisoned for his religious activity.

On August 6, 1999, authorities arrested Djumanov in Tashkent after accusing him of distributing Hizb ut-Tahrir literature.

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…

Kadyr Yusupov was mistreated in prison for fighting for prisoner religious freedom rights and his religious activity. 

In or around December 2018, authorities arrested Yusupov, who…

Suleiman Bouhafs was imprisoned for his alleged expression about religion.

On August 25, 2021, three men in a black vehicle abducted Bouhafs –  Chairman of the St. Augustine…

Ramy Kamel was detained for his civil rights work and religious freedom advocacy.

On November 23, 2019, security forces arrested Kamel, a human rights activist and founder of the…

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

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

Shwe Nya War was detained in relation to his religious freedom advocacy.

On February 1, 2021, military forces detained War, a monk, following the military’s overthrow of the…

Elshan Abbasov was imprisoned for his religious activity.

On March 3, 2022, plainclothes officers in Barda arrested Abbasov, a member of the Muslim Unity Movement (MUM).  Activists…

Hkalam Samson was imprisoned for his religious activity and religious leadership role. 

On December 4, 2022, authorities arrested Samson, a pastor and advisor to the Kachin…

Abdolhamid Masoumi Tehrani was detained in relation to criticizing religious freedom conditions.

On October 16, 2022, authorities in Tehran reportedly arrested Tehrani, an ayatollah…

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…

Isidro Mora was detained for criticizing religious freedom conditions and for his religious leadership role.

On December 20, 2023, Nicaraguan police arrested Mora, a bishop from the…

Silvio Fonseca was detained for his religious expression and his religious leadership role.

On December 29, 2023, Nicaraguan authorities arrested Silvio Fonseca, the vicar of Family, Life…

Héctor Treminio was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 28, 2023, police arrested Treminio, parish priest of the Santo Cristo de Esquipulas Church in Managua and…

Carlos Avilés was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 28, 2023, police arrested Avilés, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Managua and priest of Cristo de las Colinas…

Fernando Calero was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 28, 2023, police arrested Calero, parish priest of Our Lady of Fátima in Rancho Grande, Matagalpa, after he…

Marcos Díaz Prado was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 28, 2023, authorities arrested Díaz Prado, vicar of the Santo Tomás Apóstol church of Puerto de Corinto in…

Mykel Monterrey was detained for his religious leadership role.

On or around December 29, 2023, police arrested Monterrey, parish priest of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria parish of the…

Raúl Zamora was detained for his religious leadership role.

On or around December 29, 2023, police arrested Zamora, parish priest of Jesús de la Divina Misericordia parish of the…

Gerardo Rodríguez was detained for his religious leadership role.

On or around December 30, 2023, police arrested Rodríguez, parish priest of Purísima Concepción church in Reparto Belmonte…

Miguel Mántica was detained for his religious leadership role.

On or around December 29, 2023, police arrested Mántica, parish priest of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Bolonia, Managua,…

Jader Hernández was detained for his religious leadership role.

On or around December 29, 2023, police arrested Hernández, parish priest of the Madre del Divino Pastor parish in Nejapa,…

Ismael Serrano was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 30, 2023, police arrested Serrano, parish priest of San Miguel Arcángel, Las Brisas, under unclear circumstances…

 José Gustavo Sandino Ochoa was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 31, 2023, police reportedly arrested Sandino, parish priest of Our Lady of Sorrows parish in…

Alester Sáenz was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 20, 2023, Nicaraguan police arrested Sáenz, a seminarian, alongside Bishop Isidro Mora after the bishop…

Tony Palacios was detained for his religious leadership role.

On December 20, 2023, Nicaraguan police arrested Palacios, a seminarian, alongside Bishop Isidro Mora after the…

Freddy Quezada was imprisoned for criticizing religious freedom conditions.

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