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…

Vladimir Atrуakhin is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity. 

On February 6, 2019, authorities arrested Atrуakhin, a programmer, following a raid on his home.  He was…

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…

Zhu Jinlian is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On September 30, 2017, police from Pingyuan dounty, Shandong province, detained Zhu reportedly in relation to her religious…

Liu Junhua is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 24, 2017, officers from the Heze Public Security Bureau Mudan Branch arrested Liu while he was writing…

Wu Baozhen is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 24, 2017, officers from the Heze Public Security Bureau Mudan Branch arrested Wu while he was writing scrips for…

Gong Xingqi was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On October 17, 2016, the police in Weifang city, Shandong province detained Gong reportedly in relation to his religious…

Zheng Shihong is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On October 17, 2016, the police in Weifang city, Shandong province, detained Zheng reportedly in relation to her…

Yang Xia is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On October 17, 2016, the police in Weifang city, Shandong province, detained Yang reportedly in relation to her religious…

Li Huaxian was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On August 23, 2014, authorities in Jinxiang county arrested Li reportedly while she was preaching in Mengdian…

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…

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…

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…

Lin Weiping is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On December 25, 2017, officers from the Yanling County Public Security Bureau in Xuchang city, Henan province, detained Lin…

Bai Xiujie was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity. 

On September 26, 2013, authorities arrested Bai in relation to her religious beliefs and evangelizing activities.

Hu Wenlan is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On November 3, 2018, officers from the Yining City Public Security Bureau in Xinjiang detained Hu, a member of the Church of…

Zhang Xue is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

In November 2018, officers from the Yining City Public Security Bureau in Xinjiang detained Zhang reportedly in relation to…

Huang Qiuxiang is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On November 29, 2018, police from the Yining City Public Security Bureau in Xinjiang detained Huang reportedly in…

Zhao Haibin was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On February 17, 2017, officers from the Yangcheng Public Security Bureau of Jincheng detained Zhao reportedly in relation to…

Xiong Qunqun is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On June 29, 2018, officers from the Linchuan Branch of Fuzhou Public Security Bureau detained Xiong reportedly in…

Li Fasheng is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On April 14, 2019, officers from the Dongxiang District Public Security Bureau in Fuzhou city, Jiangxi province,…

Chen Ziquan is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On April 14, 2019, police from the Dongxiang District Public Security Bureau in Fuzhou city, Jiangxi province, detained…

Chen Tingting is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On November 15, 2018, police from the Gaoqing County Public Security Burea detained Chen in relation to her religious…

Yin Xue is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On November 16, 2018, officers from the Gaoqing County Public Security Bureau detained Yin reportedly in relation to her…

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…

Hu Mei was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

In May 2016, officers from the Xuzhou Economic Development Zone Public Security Bureau detained Hu reportedly in relation to her…

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…

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…

Y Yich was imprisoned for his religious activity.

On May 13, 2013, authorities arrested Yich, a pastor in the Degar Protestant Church, after accusing him of spreading Degar Protestantism, a…

Abdurehim Heyit is detained for his religious expression and ethnoreligious identity.

In April 2017, public security authorities in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) detained…

Yahaya Sharif-Aminu is imprisoned for his religious expression. 

In March 2020, authorities arrested Sharif-Aminu, a musician and follower of the Sufi Tijaniyyah Order, for allegedly…

Jang Moon Seok was imprisoned for his religious activity.

In November 2014, Seok, a deacon, was abducted and transferred from China to a prison in North Korea for his evangelism,…

Joo Gwang Ho is detained for his religious activity.

On an unspecified date, authorities in China arrested Joo Gwang Ho for his evangelism to ethnic-Chinese citizens and North Korean…

Lee Soo Gil was executed for his religious activity.

In December 2001, authorities in China arrested Lee Soo Gil for evangelizing and helping North Korean refugees escape to South Korea. He…

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…

Abdulazeez Inyass is imprisoned for blasphemy.

In May 2015, Nigerian authorities arrested Inyass for allegedly saying that Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse, the founder of the Tijaniya order to…

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…

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…

Reda Abdel Rahman was detained for his religious belief.

On August 22, 2020, security forces arrested Abdel Rahman, a teacher and َQur'anist blogger, alongside several relatives. A few…

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…

Nariman Seytzhanov was imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

On January 15, 2017, authorities arrested Seytzhanov reportedly over a meeting he had in a coffeeshop in…

Joshua Hilmy was forcibly disappeared for his religious belief and activity. 

On November 30, 2016, Hilmy, who is a pastor, and his wife, Ruth Sitepu, were disappeared at the hands…

Ruth Sitepu was forcibly disappeared for her religious identity. 

On November 30, 2016, Sitepu and her husband, Joshua Hilmy, were disappeared at the hands of authorities or…

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…

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…

Shohida Mamadjonova was imprisoned for her religious association.

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

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 &…

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…

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…

Sulaiman al-Dowaish was forcibly disappeared for his religious expression.

In April 2016, al-Dowaish, a religious scholar, was forcibly disappeared after posting tweets summarizing a…

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…

Omar al-Muqbil is imprisoned for his religious expression and religious freedom advocacy.

In September 2019, authorities arrested al-Muqbil, a cleric, for a sermon criticizing concerts…

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,…

Saleh Al Talib is imprisoned for his religious expression leadership.

In August 2018, authorities arrested Talib, an imam at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, following a sermon he gave criticizing…

Aleksandr Korolev is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity. 

On March 20, 2019, authorities initiated a criminal case against Korolev for “participating in the…

Denis Antonov is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity. 

On March 14, 2019, authorities initiated a criminal case against Antonov for “participating in the…

Georgiy Nikulin is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In February 2019, authorities reportedly open a criminal case against Nikulin for “organizing the activities of a…

Aleksandr Shevchuk was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In February 2019, authorities reportedly open a criminal case against Shevchuk for “organizing the…

Elena Nikulina is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On April 2, 2021, authorities charge Nikulina with  “recruiting…a person in the activities of an…

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…

Danil Suvorov was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On August 18, 2021, authorities in Sochi detained Suvorov following searches on the homes of several Jehovah's…

Lyudmila Shchekoldina was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On May 23, 2022, the Pavlovsky District Court of Krasnodar sentenced Shchekoldina to four years and one month…

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…

Fikremariam Hagos Tsalim was detained in relation to his religious leadership role and religious expression.

On October 15, 2022, authorities arrested Tsalim, the Catholic bishop of…

Mihretab Stefanos was detained in relation to his religious leadership role and religious expression.

On October 11, 2022, authorities arrested, Stefanos, the priest of St.…

Abraham Habtom Gebremariam was detained in relation to his religious leadership role and religious expression.

In October 2022, authorities arrested Gebremariam, a Capuchin abbot. …

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…

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,…