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

In June 2012, authorities arrested Badawi, a…

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…

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…

Ahmad al-Shamri is imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy.

In 2014, authorities arrested al-Shamri, accused him of using social media to insult or renounce Islam, and charged him…

Abdul Waheed is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy.

In March 2017, security services detained Waheed and held him incommunicado after he was accused of uploading "…

Mohammad Nouri is imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy. 

In or around October 2015, authorities reportedly arrested Nouri after accusing him of posting anti-Islamic content…

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.…

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…

Maruf Gul is detained for alleged blasphemy.

In September 2020, authorities arrested Gul, a Sunni Muslim, after he discussed religious…

Abdujelil Hajim is detained for his religious belief, activity, and ethnoreligious identity.

In 2017, authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) detained several Uyghur…

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.…

Sohail Masih is detained for alleged blasphemy.

In August 2020, authorities arrested Masih after he was accused of posting content on Facebook deemed to be blasphemous. Authorities charged…

Jume Nasir is detained for his religious activity and ethnoreligious identity. 

In July 2016, authorities detained Nasir reportedly for praying inside his business. Additional reasons…

Beyshihan Hoshur is detained for her religious activity and ethnoreligious identity.

In March 2018, authorities detained Hoshur and several other elderly women in relation to their…

Abdulla Abdurahman is detained for his religious activity and ethnoreligious identity.

In March 2018, authorities in Pichan (Shanshan) county, Turpan (Tulufan) municipality, Xinjiang…

Yasin Tursun is imprisoned for his religious activity and ethnoreligious identity. 

In 2017, authorities detained Tursan, a farmer and Communist Party member, reportedly for "…

Ziyawudun Choruq is detained for his religious activity and ethnoreligious identity. 

On an unknown date in 2017, authorities in Korla (Ku’erle) city, Bayangol (Bayinguoleng) Mongol…

Tursun Hoshur is detained for his religious activity and ethnoreligious identity. 

In July 2017, public security authorities in Shaptul township, Peyziwat (Jiashi) county,…

Gheni Haji is imprisoned for his religious belief, activity, and ethnoreligious identity.

In May 2017, authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) detained Haji and…

Memet Tursun Haji is imprisoned for his religious belief, activity, and ethnoreligious identity.

In May 2017, authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) detained Haji,…

Imin Hajim is imprisoned for his religious belief, activity, and ethnoreligious identity.

In May 2017, authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) detained Hajim, …

Mubashar Ahmad was imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy-related offenses.

On May 13, 2014, authorities arrested Ahmad alongside three others for allegedly tearing down…

Ehsan Ahmad was imprisoned for blasphemy.

On May 13, 2014, authorities arrested Ahmad alongside three others after they were accused of tearing down posters containing religious…

Hassan Farhan al-Maliki is detained for his religious expression and religious freedom advocacy.

In September 2017, authorities arrested al-Maliki, an…

Zhang Xia was imprisoned for her religious activity.

On March 15, 2016, police in Dalian municipality, Liaoning province detained Zhang and later raided her home, confiscating her…

Jiang Wei is imprisoned for criticizing religious freedom conditions.

On November 9, 2015, authorities detained Jiang after she sued former Chinese government official Jiang Zemin over his…

Salman al-Ouda is detained for his religious activity and leadership role.

In September 2017, police arrested al-Ouda, a sheikh and Islamic scholar, from his home amid a state-wide wave…

Salekh Magamadov is imprisoned in relation to state-imposition of a particular religious interpretation. 

On February 4, 2021, Magamadov and Magamadov's sibling, Ismail Isaev, -…

Ismail Isaev is imprisoned in relation to state-imposition of a particular religious interpretation. 

On February 4, 2021, Isaev and Isaev's sibling, Salekh Magamadov, - two…

Ghulam Ahmad was imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy-related offenses.

On May 13, 2014, authorities arrested Ahmad alongside three others after they were accused of tearing…

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 "…

Anwaar Ahmad is imprisoned for alleged blasphemy.

In 2017, authorities arrested Ahmad, a professor at the Islamabad Model College, after he was accused of committing blasphemy during a…

Mansoor Tahir Ahmad is detained for alleged blasphemy.

In March 2021, authorities arrested Ahmad after he was accused of making negative comments about a religious program. They charged…

Fazilhoja Arifhojaev is under house arrest for his religious expression.

On June 28, 2021, authorities arrested Arifhojaev, a blogger known for his criticism of the government's religious…

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…

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 …

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…

Hidme Markam was detained for her advocacy work to protect religious sites.

On March 9, 2021, authorities arrested Markam, an Adivasi Indigenous activist known for criticizing state…

Go Sherab Gyatso is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 26, 2020, authorities arrested Sherab Gyatso - a Tibetan monk, religious philosopher, and advocate of a…

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

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

Indriyanto is imprisoned for his religious expression.

In March 2020, police in Probolinggo Regency, East Java, arrested Indriyanto for sharing photos online that were considered offensive…

Parizad Hamidi Shafagh is imprisoned on blasphemy-related charges.

In February 2020, intelligence agents arrested Shafagh reportedly in relation to her social media activities.

In…

Shakila Monfared is imprisoned for blasphemy.

In August 2020, security forces arrested Monfared as she was leaving home, reportedly in relation to her social media activism.

In…

Gedun Lhundrub is detained in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On December 2, 2020, police in Rebgong (Tongren) county, Malho (Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous…

Wangchen is detained for his religious activity.

In June 2023, police in Lhasa municipality, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), detained Wangchen while he was on pilgrimage with his family.…

Thubten Pema Lhundrub is detained for adherence to a religious figure.

On May 14, 2019, public security officials in Kangtsa (Gangcha) county, Tsojang (Haibei) Tibetan Autonomous…

Lhundrub Dragpa is imprisoned in relation to criticizing government policies impacting religious freedom.

In May 2019, public security officials in Driru (Biru) county, Nagchu (Naqu)…

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…

Omar Abdullah al-Saadoun is detained for her religious freedom advocacy.

In July 2021, authorities arrested Omar Abdullah al-Saadoun, a cleric and legal advisor, after he wrote an article…

Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan is imprisoned for his religious expression. 

In March 2018, security agents from the Presidency of State Security arrested Al-Sadhan for operating two anonymous…

Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba was imprisoned for criticizing state violence against religious and marginalized communities. 

On May 9, 2014, plain clothed police officers in Delhi arrested…

Rolando Álvarez was imprisoned for criticizing religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented Álvarez, bishop of the Matagalpa diocese, from leaving his home to perform…

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-…

Ramiro Tijerino was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Tijerino, a priest, from leaving the…

Sadiel Eugarrios was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Eugarrios, a priest, from leaving…

Raúl Antonio Vega was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Antonio Vega, a deacon, from…

José Luis Díaz was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Luis Díaz, a priest, from leaving the…

Darvin Leiva was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Leiva, a seminarian, from leaving…

Melkin Sequeira was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Sequeira, a seminarian, from leaving…

Sergio Cárdenas was imprisoned in relation to criticism of religious freedom conditions.

On August 4, 2022, police prevented several people, including Cárdenas, a cameraman, from…

Jagtar Singh Johal is detained for his religious belief and religious freedom advocacy.

In November 2017, over a dozen plainclothes officers arrested Jagtar Johal, a Sikh activist and…

Bian Changxue is imprisoned for his religious activity.

On January 5, 2016, authorities in Yutian county, Tangshan municipality, Hebei province,…

Yevgeny Tarasov is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 5, 2021, authorities in Moscow arrested six men, including Tarasov, after raiding their homes and…

Mukazhan Ksyupov is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 5, 2021, authorities in Moscow arrested six men, including Ksyupov, after raiding their homes and…

Parviz Zeynalov is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 5, 2021, authorities in Moscow arrested six men, including Zeynalov, after raiding their homes and…

Urdash Abdullayev is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 5, 2021, authorities in Moscow arrested six men, including Abdullayev, after raiding their homes and…

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…

Aleksey Dyadkin is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity. 

On August 21, 2020, authorities arrested Dyadkin after he meeting with investigators for questioning.…

Aleksey Goreliy is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On August 8, 2020, authorities arrested Goreliy after raiding the homes of several Jehovah's Witnesses and…

Nikita Moiseyev was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On August 8, 2020, authorities arrested Moiseyev after raiding the homes of several Jehovah's Witnesses and…

Vladimir Popov is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On August 12, 2020, authorities arrested Popov after raiding the homes of several Jehovah's Witnesses and…

Yevgeniy Razumov was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On August 8, 2020, authorities arrested Razumov after raiding the homes of several Jehovah's Witnesses and…

Oleg Shidlovskiy is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On August 8, 2020, authorities arrested Shidlovskiy after raiding the homes of several Jehovah's Witnesses and…

Roman Baranovskiy is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On April 10, 2019, authorities in Abkan arrested Baranovskiy following raids on the homes of Jehovah's…

Yaroslav Kalin is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity. 

On October 4, 2021, authorities in Irkutsk detained Kalin following raids on the homes of several…

Sergey Kosteyev is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 4, 2021, authorities in Irkutsk detained Kosteyev following raids on the homes of several Jehovah'…

Nikolay Martynov is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 4, 2021, authorities in Irkutsk detained Martynov following raids on the homes of several Jehovah…

Mikhail Moysh is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 4, 2021, authorities in Irkutsk detained Moysh following raids on the homes of several Jehovah's…

Igor Popov is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On November 30, 2021, authorities in Mezhdurechensk detained Popov following a raid on his home. Investigators had…

Denis Sarazhakov is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On November 30, 2021, authorities in Askiz detained Sarazhakov following a raid on his home.…

Aleksey Solnechny is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 4, 2021, authorities in Irkutsk detained Solnechny following raids on the homes of…

Andrey Tolmachev is impisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 4, 2021, authorities in Irkutsk detained Tolmachev following raids on the homes of…

Sergey Vasilyev is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 4, 2021, authorities in Irkutsk detained Tolmachev following raids on the homes of several…

Yevgeniy Zhukov is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 1, 2020, Russian authorities in Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine, detained Zhukov following searches on…

Vladimir Maladyka is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 1, 2020, Russian authorities in Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine, detained Maladyka following…

Vladimir Sakada is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 1, 2020, Russian authorities in Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine, detained Sakada following searches on…

Sergey Ananin is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On February 14, 2021, authorities in Belovo detained Ananin after searching the homes of several Jehovah's Witnesses. He…

Javed Mohammed is detained for his religious expression and religious freedom advocacy.

In June 2022, police in Uttar Pradesh arrested Mohammed, a well-known Muslim activist, after accusing…

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…

Jumanazar Hojambetow is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In early summer 2017, authorities arrested Hojambetow and four others for meeting to pray and study the writings of…

Begejik Begejikow is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In early summer 2017, authorities arrested Begejikow and four others for meeting to pray and study the writings of Said…

Ahmet Mammetdurdyyew is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In early summer 2017, authorities arrested Mammetdurdyyew and four others for meeting to pray and study the writings…

Meret Owezow is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In early summer 2017, authorities arrested Owezow and four others for meeting to pray and study the writings of Said Nursi,…

Myratdurdy Shamyradow is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In early summer 2017, authorities arrested Shamyradow and four others for meeting to pray and study the writings of…

Cui Haoxin is detained for criticizing religious freedom conditions.

On January 14, 2020, authorities in Ji’nan municipality, Shandong province, detained Cui, a religious poet,…