Burma: The Burmese military is implicated in some of the world‘s worst human rights
abuses, including rape, torture, ethnic cleansing, conscription of child soldiers, and
particularly severe religious freedom violations. These abuses continued in the past reporting
period, despite November 2010 elections that installed a new civilian government and some
initial reforms announced during 2011-2012. Religious groups, particularly ethnic minority
Christians and Muslims and Buddhist monks suspected of engaging in anti-government
activity, faced intrusive monitoring, arrest, mistreatment, destruction or desecration of
property, severe restrictions on worship, education, and religious activities, and targeted
violence. Monks are still imprisoned for participating in peaceful demonstrations in 2007,
and the ban on independent Protestant ―house church‖ activities remains.
China: The Chinese government continues to violate severely its international obligations to
protect the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief. Religious groups and
individuals considered to threaten national security or social harmony, or whose practices are
deemed superstitious, cult-like, or beyond the vague legal definition of ―normal religious
activities‖ face severe restrictions, harassment, detention, imprisonment, and other abuses.
Religious freedom conditions for Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims remain particularly
acute, as the government broadened its efforts to discredit and imprison religious leaders,
control the selection of clergy, ban certain religious gatherings, and control the distribution of
religious literature by members of these groups. The government also detained hundreds of
unregistered Protestants in the past year and stepped up efforts to shutter ―illegal‖ meeting
points and public worship activities. Dozens of unregistered Catholic clergy remain in
detention or have disappeared, and relations between the Vatican and Beijing have declined
in the past year. Falun Gong adherents continue to be targeted by extralegal security forces
and tortured and mistreated in detention. The Chinese government also continues to harass,
detain, intimidate, disbar, and forcibly disappear attorneys who defend vulnerable religious
groups.
Egypt: Over the past year, the Egyptian transitional government continued to engage in and
tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of thought, conscience and
religion or belief. Serious problems of discrimination, intolerance, and other human rights
violations against members of religious minorities, as well as disfavored Muslims, remain
widespread in Egypt. Violence targeting Coptic Orthodox Christians increased significantly
during the reporting period. The transitional government has failed to protect religious
minorities from violent attacks at a time when minority communities have been increasingly
vulnerable. This high level of violence and the failure to convict those responsible continued
to foster a climate of impunity, making further violence more likely. During the reporting
period, military and security forces used excessive force and live ammunition targeting
Coptic Christian demonstrators and places of worship resulting in dozens of deaths and
hundreds of injuries. The government also continued to prosecute, convict, and impose
prison terms on Egyptian citizens charged with blasphemy. Implementation of previous
court rulings – related to granting official identity documents to Baha‘is and changing
religious affiliation on identity documents for converts to Christianity – has seen some
progress but continues to lag, particularly for Baha‘is. In addition, the government has not
responded adequately to combat widespread and virulent anti-Semitism in the governmentcontrolled media.
Eritrea: Systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations continue in Eritrea.
These violations include: torture or other ill-treatment of thousands of religious prisoners;
arbitrary arrests and detentions without charges of members of unregistered religious groups;
a prolonged ban on public religious activities; revocation of citizenship rights of Jehovah‘s
Witnesses; interference in the internal affairs of registered religious groups; and inordinate
delays in responding to registration applications from religious groups.
Iran: The government of Iran continues to engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious
violations of religious freedom, including prolonged detention, torture, and executions based
primarily or entirely upon the religion of the accused. Iran is a constitutional, theocratic
republic that discriminates against its citizens on the basis of religion or belief. During the
past year, religious freedom conditions continued to deteriorate, especially for religious
minorities, most notably Baha‘is, as well as Christians and Sufi Muslims, and physical
attacks, harassment, detention, arrests, and imprisonment intensified. Even the recognized
non-Muslim religious minorities protected under Iran‘s constitution – Jews, Armenian and
Assyrian Christians, and Zoroastrians – faced increasing discrimination, arrests, and
imprisonment. Majority Shi‘a and minority Sunni Muslims, including clerics who dissent,
were intimidated, harassed, and detained. Dissidents and human rights defenders were
increasingly subject to abuse and several were sentenced to death and even executed for the
capital crime of ―waging war against God.‖ Heightened anti-Semitism and repeated
Holocaust denials by senior government officials have increased fear among Iran‘s Jewish
community. Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, members of minority religious communities
have fled Iran in significant numbers for fear of persecution.
Iraq: The Iraqi government continues to tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious
religious freedom violations. In the past year, religious sites and worshippers were targeted
in violent attacks, often with impunity, and businesses viewed as ―un-Islamic‖ were
vandalized. The most deadly such attacks during this period were against Shi‘a pilgrims.
While the Iraqi government has made welcome efforts to increase security, it continues to
fall short in investigating attacks and bringing perpetrators to justice. It also took actions
against political rivals in late 2011 that escalated Sunni-Shi‘a sectarian tensions. Large
percentages of the country‘s smallest religious minorities – which include Chaldo-Assyrian
and other Christians, Sabean Mandaeans, and Yazidis – have fled the country in recent years,
threatening these ancient communities‘ very existence in Iraq; the diminished numbers that
remain face official discrimination, marginalization, and neglect, particularly in areas of
northern Iraq over which the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG) dispute control. Religious freedom abuses of women and individuals who do not
conform to strict interpretations of religious norms also remain a concern.
Nigeria: The past year saw a dramatic rise in sectarian or religiously-related violence in
Nigeria, confirming USCIRF‘s warnings in our 2011 Annual Report. Over 800 people were
killed, and more than 65,000 displaced, in three days of rioting in northern states following
the presidential 2011 elections. Although triggered by political issues, the post-election
violence quickly became sectarian. In addition, Boko Haram, a militant group that espouses
an extreme and violent interpretation of Islam, has been emboldened by the climate of
impunity. Boko Haram has shifted its tactics and emphasis by targeting, killing, and
bombing Christians and Christian clergy and threatening to kill all remaining Christians in
the north, while continuing its attacks against government officials, as well as killing
hundreds of Muslims, including Muslim religious leaders who spoke out against the group.
North Korea: Despite the December 2011 death of autocratic leader Kim Jong Il and the succession of his son and chosen successor Kim Jong Un, the Democratic People‘s Republic of North Korea (DPRK or North Korea) remains one of the world‘s most repressive regimes,
with a deplorable human rights and religious freedom record. There continue to be reports of
severe religious freedom abuses occurring during the past year, including: discrimination and
harassment of both authorized and unauthorized religious activity; the arrest, torture, and
possible execution of those conducting clandestine religious activity; and the mistreatment
and imprisonment of asylum-seekers repatriated from China, particularly those suspected of
engaging in religious activities, having religious affiliations, or possessing religious
literature.
Pakistan: The government of Pakistan continues to both engage in and tolerate systematic,
ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief. Pakistan‘s repressive
blasphemy laws and other religiously discriminatory legislation, such as the anti-Ahmadi
laws, have created an atmosphere of violent extremism and vigilantism. Sectarian and
religiously-motivated violence is chronic, and the government has failed to protect members
of the majority faith and religious minorities. Pakistani authorities have not consistently
brought perpetrators to justice or taken action against societal leaders who incite violence.
Growing religious extremism threatens the freedoms of religion and expression, as well as
other human rights, for everyone in Pakistan, particularly women, members of religious
minorities, and those in the majority Muslim community who hold views deemed ―unIslamic‖ by extremists. It also threatens Pakistan‘s security and stability.
Saudi Arabia: During the reporting period, systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of
religious freedom continued in Saudi Arabia despite improvements. More than 10 years
since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the Saudi government has failed
to implement a number of promised reforms related to promoting freedom of thought,
conscience, and religion or belief. The Saudi government persists in banning all forms of
public religious expression other than that of the government‘s own interpretation of one
school of Sunni Islam; prohibits churches, synagogues, temples, and other non-Muslim
places of worship; uses in its schools and posts online state textbooks that continue to
espouse intolerance and incite violence; and periodically interferes with private religious
practice. There have been numerous arrests and detentions of Shi‘a Muslim dissidents, partly
as a result of increasing protests and demonstrations related to 2011 uprisings in the region,
and Ismaili Shi‘a Muslims continue to suffer repression on account of their religious
identity. Members of the Commission to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice (CPVPV)
continue to commit abuses, although their public presence has diminished slightly and the
number of reported incidents of abuse has decreased in some parts of the country. In
addition, the government continues to be involved in supporting activities globally that
promote an extremist ideology, and in some cases, violence toward non-Muslims and
disfavored Muslims.
Sudan: Systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief
continue in Sudan. Violations include: the criminalization, subject to the death penalty, of
apostasy; the efforts by the government in Khartoum to impose its restrictive interpretation of
Shari‘ah (Islamic law) on Muslims and non-Muslims; attacks and threats against the
Christian community; the application of the Public Order Act and related laws and use of
floggings for undefined acts of ―indecency‖ and ―immorality;‖ the denial of public religious
expression and persuasion of Muslims by non-Muslims, while allowing proselytizing of nonMuslims by Muslims; and the difficulty in obtaining permission to build churches, as compared to government funding of mosque construction.
Tajikistan: The religious freedom situation in Tajikistan further deteriorated during the
reporting period, as it has over the past several years, leading to systematic, ongoing, and
egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief. The state suppresses and punishes all
religious activity independent of state control, and imprisons individuals on unproven
criminal allegations linked to religious activity or affiliation. The Tajik government‘s
restrictions on freedom of religion or belief primarily affect the country‘s majority Muslim
community, but also target minority communities viewed as foreign-influenced, particularly
Protestants and Jehovah‘s Witnesses. Jehovah‘s Witnesses are banned and, as a result, that
community has faced numerous official penalties, including allegations of inciting interreligious discord. In recent years, the Tajik government has destroyed a synagogue, a church, and three mosques, and it has closed down hundreds of unregistered mosques,
including 50 in early 2011.
Turkey: Due to the Turkish government‘s systematic and egregious limitations on the
freedom of religion or belief that affect all religious communities in Turkey, and particularly
threaten the country‘s non-Muslim religious minorities, USCIRF recommends Turkey be
designated a ―country of particular concern.‖ The Turkish government, in the name of
secularism, has long imposed burdensome regulations and denied full legal status to religious
groups, violating the religious freedom rights of all religious communities. These
restrictions, including policies that deny non-Muslim communities the rights to train clergy,
offer religious education, and own and maintain places of worship, have led to their decline,
and in some cases, their virtual disappearance. Turkey has a democratic government, and the
country‘s constitution protects the freedom of belief and worship. While the political climate
in Turkey is generally more open to public debate on religious freedom matters and the
government has recently taken some positive steps on property, education, and religious
dress, these ad hoc announcements have not resulted in systematic changes in constitutional
and legal structures that would remedy violations of religious freedom for non-Muslim
minorities. Longstanding policies continue to threaten the survivability and viability of
minority religious communities in Turkey.
Turkmenistan: Severe religious freedom violations and official harassment of religious
adherents persist in Turkmenistan. Despite a few limited reforms undertaken by President
Berdimuhamedov since 2007, the country‘s laws, policies, and practices continue to violate
international human rights norms, including those on freedom of religion or belief. Police
raids and other harassment of registered and unregistered religious groups continue. The
highly repressive 2003 religion law remains in force, causing major difficulties for religious
groups to function legally, and has justified police raids and arrests. Turkmen law does not
allow a civilian alternative to military service, and six Jehovah‘s Witnesses are imprisoned
for conscientious objection.
Uzbekistan: Since Uzbekistan gained independence in 1991, its government has systematically
and egregiously violated freedom of religion or belief. The Uzbek government violates the full
range of human rights and harshly penalizes individuals for independent religious activity
regardless of their religious affiliation. A restrictive religion law facilitates the government‘s
control over all religious communities, particularly the majority Muslim community. The
government continues to arrest Muslims and repress individuals, groups, and mosques that do
not conform to officially-prescribed practices or that it claims are associated with extremist
political programs. Thousands of such persons remain imprisoned as alleged extremists,
including many who reportedly are denied due process and subjected to torture. While
Uzbekistan does face security threats from members of groups that advocate or perpetrate
violence in the name of Islam, the government arbitrarily applies vague anti-extremism laws
against many Muslims and others who pose no credible threat to security.
Vietnam: The government of Vietnam continues to control all religious communities, restrict
and penalize independent religious practice severely, and repress individuals and groups
viewed as challenging its authority. Religious activity continues to grow in Vietnam and the
government has made some important changes in the past decade in response to international
attention, including from its designation as a ―country of particular concern‖ (CPC).
Nevertheless, individuals continue to be imprisoned or detained for reasons related to their
religious activity or religious freedom advocacy; independent religious activity remains
illegal; legal protections for government-approved religious organizations are both vague and
subject to arbitrary or discriminatory interpretations based on political factors; and new
converts to ethnic-minority Protestantism and members of one Buddhist community face
discrimination, intimidation, and pressure to renounce their faith. Read full report
