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Increased EIASC Oversight of Mosques The EIASC is the Ethiopian Muslim community’s representative body, but due to the government’s interference since 2011 many in the community no longer support it and view its members as government figureheads. During the reporting period, the EIASC increased its management of the Muslim community. It issued two directives giving it greater oversight, and even ownership, of Ethiopia’s mosques. The directives include detailed rules regulating the administration of mosques; give the EIASC authority to issue internal mosque regulations and appoint mosque employees; and prohibit public meetings, speeches and preaching, and fundraising events without the EIASC’s written approval. 218 USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2016
KYRGYZSTAN The Kyrgyz government restricts religious freedom through its 2008 religion law and other laws and policies. Pending religion law amendments would sharply increase these controls, and, if enacted, could negatively affect Kyrgyzstan’s status in USCIRF’s next annual report. USCIRF has monitored religious freedom conditions in Kyrgyzstan for several years. Background Over 80 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s population of 5.7 million is Sunni Muslim; 15 percent is Christian, mostly Russian Orthodox; and the remaining five percent consists of very small Shi’a Muslim, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, and Baha’i communities or individuals who are unaffiliated with any religion. The country’s large ethnic Uzbek community (up to 40 percent of the population of southern Kyrgyzstan) mostly adheres to the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam. 2008 Religion Law The constitution purports to provide for religious freedom for all citizens, but Kyrgyzstan’s 2008 religion law criminalizes unregistered religious activity and imposes burdensome registration requirements, including that a religious group must have 200 resident citizens as its founders and at least ten members, of whom one must be a 15-year local resident. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, and the UN Human Rights Committee have noted that the law violates international standards, including through its: registration requirements, criminal penalties for unregistered activity, restrictions on “fanaticism and extremism,” and limits on missionary activity and the dissemination of religious materials. In 2015, some Kyrgyz officials reportedly ignored a 2014 ruling of the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber that a registered religious group’s activities cannot be limited to its legal address and that it is unconstitutional to require local council approval of the list of 200 founders necessary for registration. Proposed Religion Law Amendments In 2014, the State Committee on Religious Affairs (SCRA) prepared draft amendments to the religion law that would sharply increase the SCRA’s authority; privilege Islam and the Russian Orthodox Church over other “non-traditional” religions; require 500 founders for the required re-registration of all religious groups; require an annual SCRA license for any official or worker in a religious group or religious educational institution; and further limit the sites for distribution of religious materials. Draft administrative code amendments would increase the maximum fines for religious offenses to the equivalent of 14 months’ average salary. In 2015, a Defense Council working group (to which the SCRA director belongs) and the Prime Minister’s Office reportedly were reviewing and revising the proposals. As of the end of the reporting period, Kyrgyz authorities had not sent any proposed amendments to parliament. Increased State Control of Muslims Countries in Central Asia face security threats from groups using violence in the name of religion, and thousands of Central Asians, including official estimates of 250 Kyrgyz, allegedly have joined ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). However, the overly restrictive religion laws and repressive anti-extremism measures applied by the Kyrgyz and other Central Asian governments run the risk of radicalizing otherwise peaceful religious adherents. In 2015, Kyrgyzstan reportedly implemented a 2014 Presidential Decree that increased state control over the semi-autonomous Muslim Board, including by requiring the Muslim Board to elect imams and the Chief Mufti; mandating that government officials participate in internal exams for imams; providing monetary rewards to Muslim clergy who excelled in meeting USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2016 219
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UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNA
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE U.S. COMMISSIO
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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ....
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INTRODUCTION By any measure, religi
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“Migrants are escorted through fi
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including the United States. To be
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2016 ANNUAL REPORT OVERVIEW Created
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IRFA IMPLEMENTATION IRFA’s Purpos
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names in the Federal Register. Desp
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target. The IRF Reports covering 20
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from the State Department’s CPC l
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and religious tolerance be included
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Service (USCIS), and Immigration an
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freedom concerns in OSCE countries,
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language to express congressional c
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TIER 1 CPCS DESIGNATED BY THE STATE
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BURMA Key Findings In 2015, peacefu
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BURMA carrying at least 5,000 indiv
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BURMA • Engage the government of
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CHINA Key Findings China’s severe
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CHINA indicated increased governmen
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CHINA including the treatment of Ch
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ERITREA Key Findings The Eritrean g
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ERITREA legal counsel, accorded due
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ERITREA property and property inter
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IRAN Key Findings Religious freedom
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IRAN engaging in religious activiti
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IRAN On July 28, 2014, the Secretar
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NORTH KOREA Key Findings North Kore
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NORTH KOREA become unstable. As a d
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USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2016 55
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SAUDI ARABIA Key Findings Despite s
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SAUDI ARABIA November 2015, his sen
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SAUDI ARABIA in the Kingdom during
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SAUDI ARABIA • Press the Saudi go
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SUDAN Key Findings Religious freedo
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SUDAN trials, with no legal represe
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SUDAN • Continue to support dialo
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TURKMENISTAN Key Findings In 2015,
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TURKMENISTAN Punishments for Religi
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TURKMENISTAN • Urge the Turkmen g
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UZBEKISTAN Key Findings The governm
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UZBEKISTAN over the past 15 years a
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UZBEKISTAN Afghanistan’s security
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TIER 1 CPCS RECOMMENDED BY USCIRF -
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CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Key Findin
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CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC where ther
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EGYPT Key Findings Against a backdr
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EGYPT unlicensed mosques from holdi
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EGYPT views on Facebook; he has gon
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disfavored Muslims and non-Muslims,
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IRAQ Key Findings Iraq’s religiou
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IRAQ accounts, ISIL gave Yazidis tw
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IRAQ al-Nujaifi. Moreover, in 2014,
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NIGERIA Key Findings Religious free
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NIGERIA houses of worship and relig
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NIGERIA in denying applications to
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NIGERIA development assistance, cou
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PAKISTAN Key Findings In 2015, the
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PAKISTAN second amendment, which am
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PAKISTAN members of the majority fa
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SYRIA Key Findings Syria’s religi
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SYRIA conflict was as follows: 87 p
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SYRIA al-Assad to step down and iss
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SYRIA in-kind assistance to genocid
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TAJIKISTAN Key Findings The governm
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TAJIKISTAN In February 2015, Tajiki
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TAJIKISTAN education, and security.
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VIETNAM Key Findings Government res
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VIETNAM of their regular practices,
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VIETNAM Dialogue, which prominently
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TIER 2 COUNTRIES -AFGHANISTAN -AZER
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AFGHANISTAN Key Findings Afghanista
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AFGHANISTAN In 2015, U.S. and inter
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AZERBAIJAN Key Findings Despite Aze
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AZERBAIJAN August 2014. After being
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AZERBAIJAN those seen by officials
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CUBA Key Findings During the report
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CUBA Denial of Religious Freedom fo
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INDIA Key Findings In 2015, religio
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INDIA Muslims and destroy[ing] the
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INDIA Violations against Sikhs In a
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types have, on occasion, been targe
Page 173 and 174: INDONESIA Key Findings Incidents of
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Page 177 and 178: INDONESIA the Rohingya Muslims from
Page 179 and 180: KAZAKHSTAN Key Findings Although th
Page 181 and 182: KAZAKHSTAN activity. Court hearings
Page 183 and 184: KAZAKHSTAN USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2
Page 185 and 186: LAOS Key Findings Although the Lao
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Page 191 and 192: MALAYSIA Key Findings In 2015, many
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Page 197 and 198: RUSSIA Key Findings Along with othe
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Page 205 and 206: USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2016 199
Page 207 and 208: TURKEY Key Findings Turkey’s cons
Page 209 and 210: TURKEY since 2011. The communities
Page 211 and 212: TURKEY U.S. Policy Turkey is an imp
Page 213 and 214: BAHRAIN During the past year, there
Page 215 and 216: BANGLADESH In 2015, violent extremi
Page 217 and 218: BELARUS USCIRF continues to monitor
Page 219 and 220: BELARUS of Catholic Bishops observe
Page 221 and 222: HORN OF AFRICA Religious freedom vi
Page 223: HORN OF AFRICA radical Muslim cleri
Page 227 and 228: WESTERN EUROPE USCIRF continues to
Page 229 and 230: WESTERN EUROPE Hate Speech Laws The
Page 231 and 232: APPENDICES USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2
Page 233 and 234: APPENDIX 1 BIOGRAPHIES OF USCIRF CO
Page 235 and 236: Glendon is a member of the American
Page 237 and 238: and a regional federal agency. Rose
Page 239 and 240: APPENDIX 2 ERITREAN PRISONER LIST 2
Page 241 and 242: APPENDIX 3 BOKO HARAM ATTACKS Boko
Page 243 and 244: DATE PERPETRATOR DESCRIPTION LOCATI
Page 245 and 246: APPENDIX 4 MUSLIM LEADERS IMPRISONE
Page 247 and 248: APPENDIX 5 AZERBAIJAN PRISONER LIST
Page 249 and 250: The Case of the Web site www.azad.x
Page 251 and 252: The “Freedom for Hijab” Case Th
Page 253 and 254: The Case of the Muslim Unity Moveme
Page 255 and 256: APPENDIX 6 KAZAKHSTAN PRISONER LIST
Page 257 and 258: The Criminal Code of the Republic o
Page 259 and 260: APPENDIX 7 TAJIKISTAN PRISONER LIST
Page 261 and 262: NO. NAME BIRTH DATE RESIDENCY RESPO
Page 263: NO. NAME BIRTH DATE RESIDENCY RESPO
Page 266 and 267: The Case of “Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Is
Page 268 and 269: The Case of “Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Is
Page 270 and 271: The First Case of “Hizb ut-Tahrir
Page 272 and 273: The Case of Members of the Banned I
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268 USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2016
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