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Y Pum Bya is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On April 10, 2018, Vietnamese authorities arrested Y Pum Bya, a church leader, after accusing him of spreading false…

Y Min Ksor is imprisoned for his religious activity. 

In April 2018, authorities arrested Ksor, a member of the unregistered Good News Missionary Church, during a police raid on a house…

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

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

Stan Swamy was detained and died in state custody for his civil society work helping religious communities.

On October 8, 2020, the National Investigation Agency arrested Swamy, a Jesuit…

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…

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

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

Hamid Soudad was imprisoned for his expression about religion.

On January 20, 2021, Soudad was arrested for insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad reportedly…

Waleed abu al-Khair is imprisoned for his religious freedom advocacy.

In April 2014, authorities arrested al-Khair for legally defending religious prisoners of conscience, including Raif…

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…

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…

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…

Ali Aboluhom is imprisoned for his religious expression.

In August 2021, authorities arrested Aboluhom for allegedly expressing ideas about atheism online. Prosecutors charged him with…

Khurram Parvez is detained for his religious freedom advocacy.

In November 2021, authorities arrested Parvez, a Muslim human rights advocate in Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state.…

Gao Zhisheng remains forcibly disappeared for his work defending human rights and religious minorities.

On August 13, 2017, Gao, a human rights lawyer, was forcibly disappeared from his…

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…

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…

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…

Y Wo Nie is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On September 13, 2021, authorities arrested Nie, a member of an independent house church Dak Lak, for taking online…

Paruru Daeng Tau is imprisoned for his religious expression.

On January 15, 2020, police in South Sulawesi arrested and charged Tau, the head of the Organization for Implementing the Mandate…

Muhammad Kece is imprisoned for his religious expression.

On August 24, 2021, authorities arrested Kece, a preacher, at his friend’s home in Bali after accusing him of posting videos on…

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…

Mahnaz Jan Nesar was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

In April 2017, authorities arrested Nesar and several other Baha’is in Bandar Abbas reportedly for attending Baha’i…

Maral Rasti was imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

In April 2017, authorities arrested Rasti and several other Baha’is in Bandar Abbas reportedly for attending Baha’i…

Arash Rasekhi was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In April 2017, authorities arrested Rasekhi and several other Baha’is in Bandar Abbas reportedly for attending Baha’i…

Mehrallah Afshar was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In April 2017, authorities arrested Afshar and several other Baha’is in Bandar Abbas reportedly for…

Nasim Ghanvatian was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In April 2017, authorities arrested Ghanvatian and several other Baha’is in Bandar Abbas reportedly for…

Farid Zirgi Moghaddam is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In August 2019, intelligence agents detained Moghaddam in Birjand reportedly in relation to posts he made about…

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…

Yusef Mehrdad was imprisoned and executed on blasphemy-related charges.

In May 2020, authorities arrested Mehrdad from his home in Ardabil after accusing him and others of being a member of…

Seyyed Sadrullah Fazeli Zare was imprisoned and executed on blasphemy-related charges.

In May 2020, authorities arrested Zare after accusing him and others of being a member of a Telegram…

Shoma Sen was detained for her human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

On June 6, 2018, police in Maharashtra arrested several…

Surendra Gadling is detained for religious freedom advocacy.

In June 2018, police in Maharashtra arrested Gadling, a human rights lawyer known for defending…

Mahesh Raut was detained for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

On June 6, 2018, police in Maharashtra arrested…

Sudhir Dhawale was detained for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

On June 6, 2018, police in Maharashtra arrested…

Rona Wilson was detained for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

On June 6, 2018, police in Maharashtra arrested…

Gautam Navlakha was under house arrest for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

On August 28, 2018, police in…

Vernon Gonsalves was detained for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

On August 28, 2018, police in Maharashtra…

Arun Ferreira was detained for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

On August 28, 2018, police in Maharashtra arrested…

Anand Teltumbde was detained for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

On April 14, 2020, Teltumbde, a scholar and…

Hany Babu was detained for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

On July 28, 2020, the National Investigation Agency…

Sagar Tatyarao Gorakhe was detained for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

On September 7, 2020, the National…

Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor was detained for his human rights and civil rights work for marginalized religious communities.

On September 7, 2020, the National…

Jyoti Jagtap is detained for her religious freedom advocacy.

In September 2020, the Anti-Terrorism Squad in Pune arrested Jagtap, a human rights activist, for…

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…

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…

Mohammed Zubair was detained for his expression about religion and in relation to his reporting on religious freedom conditions.

On June 27, 2022, Delhi police arrested Zubair, co-founder…

Teesta Setalvad was detained for her human rights work supporting minority religious communities. 

On June 25, 2022, an antiterrorism squad in Mumbai arrested Setalvad, a human rights…

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…

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…

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…

Atikur Rahman was detained in relation to his religious identity, social work for religious communities, and for protesting religious freedom conditions.

On October 5, 2020, authorities…

Payam Vali is imprisoned for his religious belief and activity. 

On September 24, 2022, authorities in Karaj arrested Vali reportedly in relation to his being Baha'i. Security…

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…

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…

Aleksandr Gabyshev is detained for his religious expression, belief, and activity. 

On January 27, 2021, authorities arrested Gabyshev and sent him to a psychiatric hospital after…

Enrique Martínez was detained for his religious leadership role.

On October 13, 2022, authorities reportedly violently arrested Martínez, the parish priest of St. Martha’s Church in…

Abdul Majeed Al-Arkani is imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

In 2020, authorities arrested Al-Arkani, an imam, for being friendly with a prominent Turkish figure, Yasin…

Khaled Al-Rashed is imprisoned for his religious expression and association.

In March 2006, Saudi authorities arrested Al-Rashed, a cleric, for his membership in the Movement of Reformers…

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

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

Oscar Benavidez was imprisoned for criticizing religious freedom conditions.

On August 14, 2022, authorities reportedly arrested Benavidez, a priest, after he performed mass. …

Kamile Wayit is detained in relation to her ethnoreligious identity and her brother's human rights work.

On December 12, 2022, authorities in Atush (Atushi) city, Kizilsu (Kezilesu) Kyrgyz…

Irfan Mehraj is detained for religious freedom advocacy.

In March 2023, National Investigation Agency authorities arrested Mehraj, a human rights activist and journalist known for his…

Anwar Kenneth was imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy.

In 2001, authorities reportedly arrested Kenneth after he was accused of writing letters perceived as blasphemous towards…

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…

Server Mustafayev is imprisoned for his alleged religious activity. 

On May 21, 2018, authorities in Russian-occupied Crimea, Ukraine, arrested Mustafayev, co-founder of Crimean…