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Raif Badawi was imprisoned for his religious freedom advoacy, expression about religion, and for criticizing religious authorities.
In June 2012, authorities arrested Badawi, a…
Ivan Matsitsky was detained for his religious activity and religious leadership role.
In June 2017, authorities detained Matsitsky, the director of the Church of Scientology in St.…
Renat Suleimanov was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On October 2, 2017, authorities arrested Suleimanov following a raid on his home in Molodezhnoe, Crimea.…
Deng Chuangjiu was imprisoned for his religious activity.
In October 2017, authorities arrested Deng from his workplace after accusing him of using WeChat to disseminate…
Jiang Ruirui was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On July 25, 2014, authorities detained Jiang, a leader of the Church of Almighty God, reportedly while she was attending a…
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…
Fang Ronghua was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On October 30, 2015, authorities detained Fang in Fuzhou City Dongtai city, Jiangsu province, reportedly in…
Li Naiyang was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On June 25, 2014, officers from the Wulian County Public Security Bureau in Shandong province arrested Li reportedly in…
Wu Jikun was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On December 21, 2012, authorities in Anhui province detained Wu reportedly in relation to his preaching activities and…
Zhang Jie was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
In late 2012, police arrested Zhang reportedly in relation to his religious leadership role for 30 churches and his…
Pei Jing was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On December 12, 2012, officers from the Pengdian Township Police Station of Xi county, Xinyang city, Henan province,…
Song Rongmin was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On December 12, 2012, officers from the Pengdian Township Police Station of Xi county, Xinyang city, Henan…
Soheil Arabi was detained in relation to nationwide protests against mandatory religious veiling.
On January 2, 2023, authorities in Tehran arrested Arabi from his home under unclear…
Yuan Hongfen was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On August 11, 2014, officers from the Fanlou Town Police Station in Feng county, Xuzhou city, arrested Yuan reportedly…
Bolatbek Dyusenbekovich Nurgaliyev was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.
On October 27, 2018, authorities arrested Nurgaliyev for participating in a WhatsApp group chat…
Ernar Samatov was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.
On October 27, 2018, Kazakh authorities arrested Samatov for participating in a WhatsApp group chat about Islam.…
Beket Mynbasov was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.
On October 27, 2018, Kazakh authorities arrested Mynbasov for participating in a WhatsApp group chat about Islam…
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…
Li Yuehu was imprisoned for his religious activity.
On July 11, 2019, authorities arrested Li after police found Falun Gong-related materials on him.
In December 2019, Li was…
Shafqat Emmanuel was imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy.
In July 2013, authorities arrested Emmanuel and his wife, Shagufta Kausar, for allegedly sending blasphemous texts.…
Shagufta Kausar was imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy.
In July 2013, authorities Kausar and her husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, for allegedly sending blasphemous texts. The…
Nadeem Samson was detained for blasphemy.
On November 24, 2017, authorities arrested Samson after he was accused of committing blasphemy on Facebook following a property dispute. …
Bai Lijun was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On February 11, 2019, authorities arrested Bai and another individuals reportedly in relation to their Falun Gong…
Patras Masih was detained for blasphemy.
On February 19, 2018, authorities arrested Masih after he was accused of posting a perceived-blasphemous image on Facebook a few days before.…
Chen Xiaoying was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On March 20, 2014, authorities detained Chen for allegedly organizing religious assemblies and being in possession…
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…
Xiao Guorong was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On January 10, 2018, officers from the Public Security Bureau in the Mosuowan Reclamation Area detained Xiao reportedly in…
Hu Xiuzhen was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On March 20, 2015, officers from the Feng County Public Security Bureau in Jiangsu province detained Hu reportedly in…
Liu Jifang was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On September 17, 2017, officers from the Lishi District Public Security Bureau of Luliang city detained Liu reportedly…
Mubarak Bala was imprisoned for exercising his freedom of belief.
On April 28, 2020, Kaduna State police arrested Bala, president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, from…
Lei Xiuxiang was imprisoned for criticizing religious freedom conditions.
In July 2015, authorities arrested Lei for sending a letter to a high-ranking former official, protesting…
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…
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.…
Rishat Girfanov was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On September 30, 2015, authorities arrested Girfanov after accusing him of being a member of the …
Danil Kunakbayev was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On September 30, 2015, authorities arrested Kunakbayev after accusing him of being a member of the banned…
Denis Zagitdinov was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On September 30, 2015, authorities arrested Zagitdinov after accusing him of being a member of the …
Hamid Soudad was imprisoned for his expression about religion.
On January 20, 2021, Soudad was arrested for insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad reportedly…
Li Cui was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
On May 9, 2018, police arrested Li after raiding a house in Jiujiang city, Jiangxi province, where Li and others were…
Ravshan Kosimov was imprisoned for his religious identity and activity.
In 2008, security services arrested Kosimov, a soldier who studied on an exchange program at the U.S. military…
Alisher Muminov was imprisoned for his religious activity.
On March 26, 2016, authorities arrested Muminov, a resident of Margilon, in Tashkent and charged him with “attempts to overthrow…
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…
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…
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 "…
Aleksey Yershov was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
In July 2020, security forces raided the home of Yershov and other Jehovah's Witnesses. They reportedly…
Andrey Kolesnichenko was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
In July 2020, authorities raided the home of Kolesnichenko and other Jehovah's Witnesses and confiscated…
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-…
Ilmir Abdullin was detained for his religious belief and activity.
On October 5, 2021, authorities in Moscow arrested six men, including Abdullin, after raiding their homes and…
Nikolay Nesterovich was detained for his religious belief and activity.
On October 5, 2021, authorities in Moscow arrested six men, including Nesterovich, after raiding their homes…
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…
Sergey Polyakov was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On July 4, 2018, authorities in Omsk detained Polyakov after assaulting him upon violently entering his home. He…
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…
Parwa Behdad was detained for her religious belief and activity.
On November 14, 2022, authorities in Isfahan arrested Behdad from her home reportedly in relation to her being Baha'i.…
Rooha Imani was detained for her religious belief and activity.
On December 4, 2022, authorities in Kerman reportedly arrested Imani reportedly in relation to her being Baha'i.…
Firoozeh Soltan Mohammadi was detained for her religious belief and activity.
On December 4, 2022, authorities in Kerman reportedly arrested Mohammadi reportedly in relation to her…
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…
Taras Kuzio was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On March 11, 2021, authorities in Yalta, Russian-occupied Crimea, Ukraine, detained Kuzio after accusing him of…
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…
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…