One month ahead of the State Department’s release of a list of countries suspected of religious freedom violations, a federal commission on religious freedom abroad has recommended the list be expanded to include Laos, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan.
Muslims, Protestants, Baha’is, Catholics and Hare Krishnas are among a number of faiths whose members face detention, prison terms, deportation and other forms of persecution in those countries, the 10-member International Commission on Religious Freedom said in a July 28 statement.
Turkmenistan’s government is “reminiscent of Stalin’s,” the commission concluded, and it found the Saudi Arabian government “brazenly denies religious freedom and vigorously enforces its prohibition against all forms of public religious expression other than that of Wahabi Muslims.”
In North Korea religious freedom” is nonexistent,” the commission said, and its government “has imprisoned religious believers except that which serves the interests of the state.” The governments of India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam were also singled out for ‘grave violations of religious freedom,” though the commission noted, “The actions of these governments of these countries may not meet the statutory threshold necessary for designation as (countries of particular concern).
“Nevertheless, the commission notes that under (the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998) the president must take action (or issue a waiver of the requirement to take such action) with regard to all countries the government of which engages in or tolerates violations of religious freedom,” the panel said in the statement. (RNS)
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