Arms
Business
Children's Rights
Counterterrorism
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights
Health & Human Rights
HIV/AIDS
International Justice
LGBT Rights
Migrants
Prisons
Refugees
United Nations
Women's Rights
More...

Overview: Religious Freedom in Peril

Muslims, Christians, Jews and people of other religions are being persecuted by repressive governments, attacked by police and armed mobs, arrested, beaten, even killed – simply because of their religious faith. Based on our first-hand research, Human Rights Watch has exposed numerous cases of repressive governments using the “war on terrorism” and other rationales as justification for the abuse, torture, and execution of people because of their religious convictions.

We Must Speak Out

In the U.S., under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, countries whose governments engage in serious violations of religious freedom can be named countries of particular concern. The law offers many options for dealing with these countries, ranging from condemnation to full sanctions. However, President George W. Bush has been reluctant to use the law to apply real pressure. In the months ahead, Human Rights Watch is determined to take the following actions:

Document cases of religious intolerance and persecution, and alert the international community and word media to governments that carry out or condone the abuse;
Demand that repressive governments amend laws referring to religions as “enemies of the state” or “secret societies” and revise regulations that censor religious communication;
Encourage the United Nations and other international organizations to investigate incidents of religious persecution;
Press the U.S. government to identify nations engaged in serious violations of religious freedom as countries of particular concern and enforce the restrictions called for in the International Religious Freedom Act.

Muslims Victimized in Uzbekistan

Since 1998, the government of Uzbekistan has arrested thousands of individuals in a crackdown against those whose practice of Islam falls outside of the state-controlled mosque. Independent pious Muslims are charged with ill-defined crimes of “religious extremism” and taken into custody for indefinite periods or “disappeared.” Police routinely torture defendants in these cases to obtain confessions and force them to incriminate others with whom they have prayed or studied religious texts. Even the relatives of the accused are often detained, held as hostages, threatened with torture, or tortured themselves.

Christian Faiths Endangered in Georgia

In the former Soviet republic of Georgia, governmental authorities and local police indulge and abet mob violence against non-Orthodox Christian worshippers. Civilian mobs target Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostalists, Baptists, and followers of other Christian faiths non-native to Georgia. More than 40 attacks took place in 2001, and more than 80 violent incidents have been reported since 1999. Groups of extremists – sometimes led by Orthodox priests – violently break up prayer gatherings, beat congregants, destroy property, and stalk adherents. Encouraged by government and police inaction, the frequency of attacks is on the rise.

China’s Crackdown on Falungong

The Chinese government’s crackdown on the Falungong and other unauthorized religious groups continues unabated. As Falungong followers have mounted peaceful demonstrations against the crackdown, the Chinese government has used increasingly violent tactics and sent followers to reeducation camps and psychiatric facilities. “Anti-cult” legislation developed to eliminate Falungong is used against at least sixteen other religious organizations that refuse to tailor their beliefs and practice to the demands of the Chinese government. In recent months members of such groups, including Mentuhui, Nanfang Jiaohui, and the Holy Spirit Reconstruction Church, have been sentenced to long prison terms. Only international pressure has saved some from immediate execution.

Saudi Arabia’s Religious Austerity

In Saudi Arabia, public demonstration of religious affiliation or sentiment is forbidden except for Muslims who follow the austere Wahhabi interpretation of the Hanbali school of Sunni Islam. Public worship by non-Muslims is banned and places of worship other than mosques are not permitted. Foreigners suspected of proselytizing to Muslims have been arrested, sentenced to prison terms, and deported. Women viewed as not in full conformity with the traditional restrictive dress code, or in the company of men who are not spouses or close male relatives, are subject to harassment and abuse by the “religious police.” The kingdom’s Shi’a Muslim minority suffers particularly acute discrimination. Shi’a public religious practice is tightly controlled, and the construction of Shi’a mosques and religious community centers is restricted.

Anti-Semitic Persecution and Violence

Conservative elements within the Iranian government have singled out members of the Jewish minority for persecution. In 2000, ten Jews from Mashhad, Iran, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to nine years based on trumped-up charges of spying for Israel. Human Rights Watch was the only organization to attend the trial. Our observer intervened directly with the trial judge to complain about a serious lack of due process, such as defense attorneys not being permitted to see evidence.

As tensions heighten in the Middle East, violence against Jews is on the rise in Western Europe. Across the continent, a wave of attackers have targeted synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, shops owned by Jews, and individual Jews. Synagogues have been vandalized throughout France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Germany, including one in Marseille that was burned to the ground and two in Belgium that were firebombed. A young Jewish woman was beaten on the Berlin subway because she was wearing a Star of David pendant. Other individuals, especially Hasidic and other Orthodox Jews, have been attacked in cities throughout the region. Human Rights Watch has vigorously protested these attacks and called for a firm and effective government response.

Rule by Strict Islamic Law in Sudan

Religious intolerance throughout Sudan’s Islamist government and judicial system is systematically denying people of other faiths their fundamental human rights. Strict interpretations of Islamic law are being used as the basis for barbaric punishments including death by stoning and amputations. In one instance, a pregnant southern Sudanese woman was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. The woman, a Christian who does not understand Arabic, was given the death penalty in that language, and the trial was conducted in Arabic with no translation of the proceedings to ensure that she understood fully the case against her.

More on human rights in Sudan

HRW Documents on Religious Freedom

Support Our Work

“They searched for literature, others beat people, while others made a human gauntlet to the door and assaulted everybody who tried to escape.” Giorgi Kiknavelidze, victim of anti-religious violence at a Jehovah’s Witnesses prayer meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia

“There were about 150 people led by a priest on horseback. They started to break the doors. For a moment people stopped, but then the priest cried, ‘What are you doing?! Why did you stop?’ That’s when the mob got violent.” Savle Gotsadze, victim of anti-religious violence in Sachkhere, Georgia

“About ten people were beating me. I was lying on the floor and could not move. The attackers were shouting, ‘Hit everybody. These little snakes are sons of the devil!’” Tamaz Nachkebia, victim of anti-religious violence against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Tbilisi, Georgia

“They used electric shock. They put him in a chair and strapped electrodes to his hands, feet, and neck and gave him electric shock. He lost consciousness and then they did it again. He confessed to some of the charges. Then they began to beat him with truncheons, and he agreed to sign everything.” Human rights defender Muzafar Isakhov summarizing the testimony of Komoliddin Sattarov, who was arrested for possessing religious leaflets in Uzbekistan

“The police could do what they wanted to us. The chief told me, ‘If you die, we will bury you and tell.” Zhang Kunlun, Falungong follower who was detained, beaten, and imprisoned in China

Contribute to Human Rights Watch