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Abune Antonios was placed under house arrest and died in state custody for resisting state-interference in church affairs.

On January 20, 2006, authorities notified Antonios, patriarch of…

Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee is imprisoned for her activism and criticism of state-endorsed religious interpretations. 

On September 26, 2022, authorities arrested Iraee from her home in…

Sevada Aghasar was imprisoned for his religious activity and being associated with religious converts. 

In August 2013, authorities arrested Aghasar at the workplace of a friend in…

Mohammad bin Hassan al-Habib is imprisoned for his religious expression, leadership role, and religious freedom advocacy.

In July 2016, authorities detained al-Habib, a Shi'a cleric, as he…

Ibrahim El Zakzaky was detained for his religious belief, religious activity, and religious leadership role. 

On December 12, 2015, authorities arrested El Zakzaky, a Shi'a Muslim…

Zeenah Ibraheem was detained for her religious belief and activity.

On December 12, 2015, authorities arrested Ibraheem and her husband, El Zakzaky, a Shi'a Muslim cleric and leader of the…

Nahid Behshid was imprisoned for her religious expression and public support for a religious figure.

On January 28, 2019, authorities took Behshid into custody after a judge sentenced her…

Abdolreza Miraghasi was imprisoned for his religious activity.

In August 2014, authorities arrested Miraghasi reportedly while he was teaching about Erfan-e Halgheh.  He was…

Taimoor Raza is imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy.

In April 2016, authorities arrested Raza after he was accused of insulting various Islamic figures on Facebook. …

Amri Che Mat was forcibly disappeared for his religious activity.

On November 24, 2016, Mat, a Shi'a Muslim convert, was abducted while driving to visit a friend. According to…

Ali al-Nimr was imprisoned for his religious identity and for protesting religious discrimination.

In July 2012, authorities detained Al-Nimr, the nephew of prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-…

Dawood al-Marhoun was imprisoned for his religious identity and for protesting religious discrimination.

On May 21, 2012, authorities arrested al-Marhoun, who was 17 years old at the time…

Abdullah al-Zaher was imprisoned for his religious identity and for protesting religious discrimination.

In March 2012, authorities detained al-Zaher, 15 years old at the time, for…

Patrick George Zaki was imprisoned for his expression about his religious identity.

On February 7, 2020, authorities arrested Zaki, a graduate student and human rights researcher, at…

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…

Movsum Samadov was imprisoned for criticizing religious freedom conditions and for his political activity.

On January 7, 2011, authorities arrested Samadov, head of the Islamic Party…

Abqul Suleymanov was imprisoned for criticizing religious freedom conditions.

On August 12, 2011, authorities arrested Suleymanov, a religious figure, for allegedly creating an extremist…

Elshan Mustafaoglu was imprisoned for his religious expression and activism.

On December 17, 2014, authorities arrested Mustafaoglu, a Muslim scholar and former department head at the…

Murtaja Qureiris was imprisoned for his religious identity and for protesting religious discrimination.

On September 20, 2014, authorities arrested Qureiris, who was 13 years old at the…

Israa al-Ghomgham is imprisoned for her religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In December 2015, Saudi authorities arrested al-Ghomgham, a well-known Shi'a activist, along with…

Mousa al-Hashim is imprisoned for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In December 2015, Saudi authorities arrested al-Hashim along with his wife, a well-known Shi'a…

Elvin Muradov was imprisoned for his religious activity and association.

On March 13, 2020, Azerbaijani police detained Muradov, a member of the unregistered Muslim Unity Movement (MUM)…

Ahsan Nuruzade is imprisoned for his religious association.

On October 6, 2017, two plainclothes officers abducted Nuruzade, a member of the unregistered Muslim Unity Movement (MUM)…

Marco Girgis is imprisoned for blasphemy.

On June 14, 2021, authorities arrested Girgis for having pictures on his phone deemed to be offensive to Islam. During interrogation, he was…

Mounir Samir Mounir was detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On January 30, 2022, authorities arrested Mounir and several other Copts a week after they had peacefully…

Raymond Mamdouh William was detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On January 30, 2022, authorities arrested William and several other Copts a week after they had peacefully…

Jayid Saad Zekry was detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On January 30, 2022, authorities arrested Zekry and several other Copts a week after they had peacefully…

Milad Mahrous Tawfik was detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On January 30, 2022, authorities arrested Tawfik and several other Copts a week after they had…

Abanoub Magdy Semaan was detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On January 30, 2022, authorities arrested Semaan and several other Copts a week after they had…

Girgis Samir Girgis was detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On January 30, 2022, authorities arrested Girgis and several other Copts a week after they had peacefully…

Shenouda Salib Hosni was detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On January 30, 2022, authorities arrested Hosni and several other Copts a week after they had…

Mina Salib Hosni was detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On January 30, 2022, authorities arrested Hosni and several other Copts a week after they had peacefully…

Milad Reda Tawfik Ayyad was detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On January 30, 2022, authorities arrested Ayyad and several other Copts a week after they…

Waseem Abbas is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy.

In June 2020, authorities arrested Abbas after he was accused of sending written letters insulting Islam. 

Mohammed Issam al-Faraj is imprisoned for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

On June 29, 2017, authorities in Medina arrested al-Faraj for protesting the state's…

Ali Hassan al-Faraj is detained for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In June 2017, authorities in Medina arrested al-Faraj for protesting against the state's treatment…

Ahmed Abdul Wahid is detained for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In June 2017, authorities in Medina arrested al-Faraj for protesting against the state's treatment of…

Ali Mohammed Al Bati is detained for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In June 2017, authorities in Medina arrested Al Bati for protesting against the state's treatment…

Mohammed Hussein Al Nimr is detained for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In June 2017, authorities in Medina arrested Al Bati for protesting against the state's…

Jalal Labbad was imprisoned and executed for his religious identity and for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On February 23, 2017, authorities arrested Labbad from his family’s home…

Monireh Arabshahi was imprisoned for her women’s rights activism against compulsory religious veiling.

In April 2019, authorities arrested Arabshahi for protesting compulsory hijab by…

Razi Humbatov is imprisoned for his religious association.

In July 2021, plainclothes officers arrested Humbatov, a member of the unregistered Muslim Unity Movement (MUM) organization, for…

Ahmed al-Matrood is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy.

On an unspecified date, Saudi authorities arrested al-Matrood for protesting in Al-Qatif governorate against the state's…

Khaled al-Ghanim is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy.

On an unspecified date, Saudi authorities arrested al-Ghanim for protesting in Al-Qatif governorate against the state's…

Ali al-Ouwaisher is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy.

On an unspecified date, Saudi authorities arrested al-Ouwaisher for protesting in Al-Qatif governorate against the state's…

Mujtaba al-Muzain is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy.

On an unspecified date, Saudi authorities arrested al-Muzain for protesting in Al-Qatif governorate against the state's…

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-…

Youssef al-Manasif is imprisoned and sentenced to death for his religious identity and religious freedom advocacy.

In April 2017, authorities arrested al-Manasif for participating in…

Abdullah al-Derazi was imprisoned and executed for his religious identity and for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On August 27, 2014, Tarut Island Police arrested al-Derazi in…

Muzaffar Davlatmirov was imprisoned for his religious activity.

On July 26, 2022, authorities in Gorno-Badakhshan Region (GBAO) detained Davlatmirov, a prominent cleric, reportedly for…

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…

Shamkhal Eyvazov was detained for his religious activity.

In April 2018, customs officials arrested Eyvazov, a member of the Muslim Unity Movement (MUM), and his brother, Migdad Eyvazov,…

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…

Shahin Gadirov is imprisoned for his religious association.

On November 23, 2022, Azerbaijani authorities arrested Gadirov, a member of the unregistered Muslim Unity Movement (MUM), on his…

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

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

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…

Mikhail Simonov is imprisoned for criticizing Russia's war in Ukraine with religious language.

On November 9, 2022, authorities in Moscow arrested Simonov over two social media posts he…

Fatemeh Sepehri is imprisoned for criticizing state-imposed religious policies. 

On September 21, 2022, security forces arrested Sepehri following the outbreak of nationwide…

Khrystofor Khrimli was detained for his religious belief and activity.

On September 18, 2023, Russian authorities in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine detained …

Andriy Chuy was detained for his religious belief and activity.

On September 18, 2023, Russian authorities in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine detained Chuy, a priest of…

Kostiantyn Maksimov is imprisoned for his religious belief.

On May 16, 2023, Russian forces in Russian-occupied Chongar, Ukraine, detained Maksimov, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox…

Abolfazl Pour-Hosseini is imprisoned for his religious activity.

In June 2023, authorities in Karaj detained Pour-Hosseini reportedly while he was passing out a leaflet about Erfan-e-Halgheh…

Mariam Al Qisoom is imprisoned for her religious freedom advocacy. 

In February 2019, authorities arrested Qisoom for her human rights advocacy on behalf of Shi'a minorities in…

Eduard Sharlot is detained for blasphemy.

On November 22, 2023, authorities detained Sharlot, a musician, at Pulkovo Airport and placed him under administrative arrest. Sharlot's…

Vusal Alish is imprisoned for his religious activity.

In March 2023, authorities arrested Alish, a member of the unregistered Muslim Unity Movement, along with 30 others, accusing them of…

Ismayil Ismayilov is imprisoned for his religious activity. 

In March 2023, authorities arrested Ismayilov, a member of the unregistered Muslim Unity Movement, along with 30 others,…

Rashad Aliyev is imprisoned for his religious association.

In January 2023, authorities arrested Aliyev, a member of the unregistered Muslim Unity Movement, amid a deterioration of…

Elshan Rahimov is imprisoned for his religious association.

In January 2023, authorities arrested Rahimov, a member of the unregistered Muslim Unity Movement, amid a deterioration…

Javid Allahverdiyev is imprisoned for his religious association.

In March 2023, authorities arrested Allahverdiyev, a member of the unregistered Muslim Unity Movement, amid a…

Aslan Gasimov is imprisoned for his religious activity.

In June 2023, authorities arrested Gasimov amid a deterioration of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran and a crackdown on…

Khayyam Karimov is imprisoned for his religious activity.

In January 2023, authorities arrested Karimov amid a deterioration of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran and a…

Neda Fotouhi is imprisoned for her membership in a religious organization and activism.

In October 2023, Iranian security forces arrested Fotouhi, an Iranian follower of Erfan-e-Halgheh,…

Fitsum-Berhan Gebrenegus is detained for his religious activity and leadership role.

In November 2004, Eritrean police authorities arrested Gebrenegus, an Eritrean Orthodox priest at the…

Gebremedhin Gebregergis is detained for his religious activity and leadership role. 

In November 2004, Eritrean police authorities arrested Gebregergis, a theologian and Eritrean…

Tekleab Mengisteab is detained for his religious activity and leadership role.

In November 2004, Eritrean police authorities arrested Mengisteab, an Eritrean Orthodox priest at the Mekane…

Elgiz Mammadov is detained for his religious belief and identity. 

On June 10, 2025, authorities detained Mammadov, a member of the unregistered Muslim Unity Member (MUM), held him…

Tarlan Sayyadov is imprisoned for his religious association. 

In March 2024, Azerbaijani authorities detained Sayyadov, a member of the unregistered Muslim Unity Movement (MUM)…

Aghali Yahyayev is imprisoned for his religious leadership role

On August 31, 2023, Azerbaijani authorities arrested Yahyayev, a member of the Board of Directors of the Muslim Unity Movement…

Anvar Aliyev is under house arrest for his religious expression. 

On July 14, 2025, Uzbek officers arrested Anvar Aliyev for discussing his Shi'a faith in a Telegram group chat. …

Yakov Vorontsov is detained for his religious expression and leadership role. 

In February 2026, authorities arrested Vorontsov, a priest of an unregistered Orthodox church, during a…