Displaying results 1 - 100 of 260

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

In June 2012, authorities arrested Badawi, a…

Tashi Wangchuk was imprisoned for his religious and ethnic identity.

On January 27, 2016, authorities arrested Tashi, a Tibetan cultural and linguistic rights advocate, in Yushu (Kyegudo)…

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…

Aramais Avakian was imprisoned in relation to his religious identity.

On September 4, 2015, authorities arrested Avakian, a Christian fish farmer, after being accusing him of being an…

Bui Van Tham was imprisoned for his religious identity and activity.

On June 26, 2017, authorities arrested Tham following a state crackdown on a Hoa Hao Buddhist event in April 2017.…

Nguyen Hoang Nam is imprisoned in relation to his religious affiliation.

On July 24, 2023, authorities arrested Nam after accusing him of posting materials online that undermined…

Le Thi Hong Hanh was imprisoned for her religious identity and activity.

On November 13, 2017, authorities arrested Hanh following a state crackdown on a Hoa Hao Buddhist event in April…

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…

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…

Naser Navard Goltapeh is imprisoned for his religious activity. 

In February 2025, authorities detained Goltapeh and other Christians without charge and sent him to Evin Prison. …

Liu Xuemei is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

On October 15, 2018, officers from the Kuitun City Public Security Bureau in Xinjiang arrested Liu reportedly…

Wang Yuling is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.

In October 2018, officers from the Kuitun City Public Security Bureau in Xinjiang detained Wang reportedly in…

Sina Dehghan is imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy.

On October 21, 2015, authorities arrested Dehghan, who was 19-year-old at the time, after he…

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…

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…

Nguyen Bac Truyen was imprisoned for his religious freedom and human rights advocacy.

On July 30, 2017, Truyen, a lawyer and leader of…

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…

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. …

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. …

Sunny Mushtaq is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy.

In June 2019, authorities arrested 19-year-old Sunny Mushtaq and his friend, Noman Asghar, for receiving images…

Noman Asghar is imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy.

In June 2019, authorities arrested Asghar and his friend, Sunny Mushtaq, for receiving images deemed blasphemous via WhatsApp…

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.…

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…

A Dao was imprisoned for his religious activity and religious freedom advocacy.

On August 18, 2016, authorities arrested Dao, the pastor of the Montagnard Evangelical Church of Christ…

Sung A Khua was imprisoned in relation to his religious identity. 

On January 2, 2019, Sung was sentenced to two years and two months in prison. Prior to the ruling, Sung and his…

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…

Murtiza Memet is imprisoned for his ethnoreligious identity.

On an unspecified date believed to have been in 2018, authorities detained Memet for reportedly sending “illegal…

Mehmut Memet is detained for his ethnoreligious identity.

In 2017, authorities in Uchturpan (Wushi) county, Aksu prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), detained Memet for…

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…

Nadeem James is imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy. 

In July 2016, authorities arrested James after he was accused of forwarding allegedly blasphemous content to a friend.…

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…

Zheng Weidong was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

In October 2018, authorities arrested Zheng from his home following a wave of arrest of Falun Gong practitioners.…

Jimmy Lai's imprisonment inhibits religious freedom advocacy.

On August 10, 2020, Lai, a media mogul, democracy activist, and advocate of religious freedom, was arrested from his home in…

Lhundrub Dorje was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.

On July 14, 2020, authorities arrested Lhundrub reportedly for sharing images and teachings of the Dalai Lama online…

Lisdiani Rodríguez Isaac was imprisoned in relation to her religious identity and activity.

On July 15, 2021, authorities detained Isaac, a member of the Free Yoruba Association of…

Lisdani Rodríguez Isaac was imprisoned in relation to her religious identity and activity.

On July 15, 2021, authorities detained Isaac, a member of the Free Yoruba Association…

Donaida Pérez Paseiro is imprisoned for her religious leadership.

On July 16, 2021, Cuban authorities arrested Paseiro, the president of the Free Yoruba Association of Cuba, an independent…

Loreto Hernández García is imprisoned for his religious leadership.

On July 16, 2021, Cuban authorities arrested Paseiro, the president of the Free Yoruba Association of Cuba, an independent…

Elizabeth Cintra García was imprisoned in relation to her religious identity and activity.

On July 15, 2021, authorities detained García, a member of the Free Yoruba Association of…

Jorge Naranjo was under house arrest for his religious identity. 

On July 11, 2021, authorities arrested Naranjo, a member and the administrator of the Los Pinos Nuevos First…

Libi Marhabi is imprisoned for his religious identity. 

In March 2016, Houthi forces arrested Marhabi for allegedly smuggling a Torah out of Yemen.

On…

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…

Alisher Kasymov is imprisoned for discussing his religion on social media.

On October 10, 2019, authorities arrested Kasymov for allegedly downloading “extremist sermons” and other…

Shakhzodjon Zokirov is imprisoned for discussing his religion on social media.

On October 8, 2019, authorities arrested Zokirov for allegedly downloading “extremist sermons” and other…

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…

Bakhtiyor Tursunov is imprisoned for discussing his religion on social media.

On September 5, 2019, authorities detained Tursunov and charged him on various criminal statutes, including…

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…

Kadyr Yusupov was mistreated in prison for fighting for prisoner religious freedom rights and his religious activity. 

In or around December 2018, authorities arrested Yusupov, who…

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…

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…

Shagufta Kiran is detained for alleged blasphemy.

In July 2021, authorities arrested Kiran after she was accused of forwarding content deemed blasphemous via WhatsApp in September 2020.…

Asif Pervaiz is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy.

In October 2013, authorities arrested Pervaiz after a coworker accused him of sending blasphemous text messages.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Shiraz Ahmad is detained for alleged blasphemy.

In February 2021, authorities arrested Ahmad after he was accused of creating an Ahmadiyya online group and sharing content in it.…

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…

Qaisar Ayub is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy.

In November 2014, authorities arrested Ayub and charged him with "insulting the Prophet Muhammad" (Sec. 295-C PPC).…

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 "…

Rana Nouman Rafa­qat is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy. 

In March 2017, authorities arrested Rafa­qat after he was accused of uploading "blasphemous"…

Nasir Ahmad is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy.

In March 2017, authorities arrested Ahmad after he was accused of uploading videos on YouTube deemed to be blasphemous…

Tang Jianqun is imprisoned for her religious activity.

On May 22, 2017, authorities from Jieyang municipality, Guangdong province, arrested Tang alongside four other Falun…

Ilham Tohti is imprisoned for his ethnoreligious identity and activism. 

On January 15, 2014, authorities arrested Tohti, an economics professor, after police raided his home and…

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…

Rohan Ahmad is detained for alleged blasphemy.

In May 2020, authorities arrested Ahmad after he was accused of sharing on WhatsApp religious content deemed blasphemous. Authorities…

Malik Usman Ahmad…

Hafiz Tariq Shehzad is detained for alleged blasphemy.

In September 2020, authorities arrested Shehzad after accusing him of sharing perceived blasphemous materials. Authorities charged…

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…

Muhammad Hashmi is detained for alleged blasphemy.

In August 2021, authorities arrested Hashmi after his bail was revoked. He was initially arrested on June 20, 2019, after he was…

Siddique Kappan was detained on for his religious identity and for reporting on religious freedom conditions. 

On October 5, 2020, authorities arrested…

Umar Khalid is detained for his religious freedom advocacy.

In September 2020, authorities arrested Khalid, a student activist, for leading peaceful protests opposing the religiously…

Khalid Saifi is detained for his religious freedom advocacy.

In February 2020, authorities arrested Saifi, founder of the United Against Hate organization, for leading peaceful protests…

Meeran Haider was detained for his religious freedom advocacy.

On April 1, 2020, authorities arrested Haider, a Muslim student activist, after accusing him of inciting communal violence…

Sharjeel Imam is detained for his religious freedom advocacy.

In January 2020, authorities arrested Imam, a Muslim student activist, for participating in peaceful protests opposing the…

Aneeqa Ateeq is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy.

In May 2020, authorities arrested Ateeq after she was accused of circulating sketches of religious figures and other…

Shohida Mamadjonova was imprisoned for her religious association.

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

John Cao was imprisoned because of his religious identity and missionary work.

On March 5, 2017, the Menglian County Police of Yunnan Province detained Cao, a pastor, humanitarian worker,…