Religious and Belief Prisoners in Over 20 Countries
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Religious and Belief Prisoners in over 20 Countries Special Focus Torture and Detention Conditions World Annual Report 2016 Human Rights Without Frontiers International 2016 World Annual Report Religious and Belief Prisoners in over 20 Countries Special Focus Torture and Detention Conditions Human Rights Without Frontiers calls upon the EU to implement its Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in order to request the release of peaceful FoRB prisoners Human Rights Without Frontiers documented over 2200 cases of imprisonment in 2016 in a Database available at http://hrwf.eu/forb/forb-and-blasphemy-prisoners-list/ Willy Fautré Dr Mark Barwick With Elisabetta Baldassini, Colin Forber, Matthew Gooch, Nicolas Handford, Lea Perekrests, Perle Rochette, Elisa Van Ruiten, and Lauren Vidler Brussels, 1 March 2017 Human Rights Without Frontiers Int’l Copyright Human Rights Without Frontiers International. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Human Rights Without Frontiers International. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of this publication should be mailed to the address below. Human Rights Without Frontiers International Avenue d’Auderghem 61/16, 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel./ Fax: +32-2-3456145 Website: http://www.hrwf.eu Email: [email protected] Contents CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................... I INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. III COUNTRIES ............................................................................................................................ 1 AZERBAIJAN ............................................................................................................................ 3 CHINA .................................................................................................................................... 13 EGYPT.................................................................................................................................... 29 ERITREA ................................................................................................................................ 37 INDIA ..................................................................................................................................... 43 INDONESIA ............................................................................................................................. 51 IRAN ...................................................................................................................................... 59 KAZAKHSTAN ........................................................................................................................ 71 MOLDOVA ............................................................................................................................. 81 NEPAL ................................................................................................................................... 87 NORTH KOREA ...................................................................................................................... 91 PAKISTAN .............................................................................................................................. 99 RUSSIA ................................................................................................................................ 109 SAUDI ARABIA ..................................................................................................................... 117 SINGAPORE .......................................................................................................................... 123 SOUTH KOREA ..................................................................................................................... 127 SUDAN ................................................................................................................................. 133 TAJIKISTAN .......................................................................................................................... 139 TURKMENISTAN ................................................................................................................... 147 UZBEKISTAN ........................................................................................................................ 153 VIETNAM ............................................................................................................................. 161 SOURCES ............................................................................................................................. 170 Human Rights Without Frontiers Int’l I II World Annual Report 2016 Introduction Freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is a universal human right guaranteed by Article 18 of the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights (Universal Declaration) and the UN International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which reads: (1): Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom [...] either individually or in community with others and in public or private to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching. (2): No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice. (3): Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.’ According to the 1981 UN Declaration of the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Article 6, the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief includes, inter alia, the following freedoms: (a) To worship or assemble in connection with a religion or belief, and to establish and maintain places for these purposes; (b) To establish and maintain appropriate charitable or humanitarian institutions; (c) To make, acquire and use to an adequate extent the necessary articles and materials related to the rites or customs of a religion or belief; (d) To write, issue and disseminate relevant publications in these areas; (e) To teach a religion or belief in places suitable for these purposes; (f) To solicit and receive voluntary financial and other contributions from individuals and institutions; (g) To train, appoint, elect or designate by succession appropriate leaders called for by the requirements and standards of any religion or belief; (h) To observe days of rest and to celebrate holidays and ceremonies in accordance with the precepts of one's religion or belief; Human Rights Without Frontiers Int’l III (i) To establish and maintain communications with individuals and communities in matters of religion and belief at the national and international levels. EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief In June 2013, the EU adopted Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief, which signifies a commitment by the EU to mainstream these principles and sends a strong message to all countries that do not respect them. By adopting the Guidelines, the EU acknowledges that religious freedom violations, committed by state and non-state actors alike, are widespread and complex, affecting societies and individuals everywhere, including in Europe. It also clarifies the EU’s own position towards religion or belief, not aligning itself with any specific view or conviction but upholding the right of the individual to choose, change, adopt, or abandon a conviction according to one’s conscience. The Guidelines are an important tool for EU officials in third countries to assist citizens who have been victims of violations of their right to freedom of religion or belief and discrimination. Our Annual Report this year focuses on countries which imprison people for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief as defined by Article 18 of the ICCPR and Article 6 of the 1981 UN Declaration of the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. Each country report comprises several sections: Introduction Cases of prisoners per religious or belief minority Laws used to criminalize religious activities National standards for detention conditions National and international reports on prison conditions in each country Conclusions The report is meant to provide a tool to the relevant EU actors who should contribute to the improvement of FoRB in countries of particular concern prioritize the minorities which need to be protected and defended try to get the release of believers and non-believers who were illegally arrested and imprisoned, being aware of their detention conditions. IV World Annual Report 2016 State repression of legitimate activities of members of religious or belief groups Quite a number of UN Member States fail to abide by UN standards and even criminalize individual and collective rights related to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). The state repression may include the death penalty, various forms of physical punishment, prison terms and exorbitant fines, sometimes of up to