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ERITREA 38 USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2016
ERITREA Key Findings The Eritrean government continues to repress religious freedom for unregistered, and in some cases registered, religious communities. Systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations include torture or other ill-treatment of religious prisoners, arbitrary arrests and detentions without charges, a prolonged ban on public religious activities of unregistered religious groups, and interference in the internal affairs of registered religious groups. The situation is particularly grave for Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The government dominates the internal affairs of the Orthodox Church of Eritrea, the country’s largest Christian denomination, and suppresses the religious activities of Muslims, especially those opposed to the government-appointed head of the Muslim community. In light of these violations, USCIRF again recommends in 2016 that Eritrea be designated a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). Since 2004, USCIRF has recommended, and the State Department has designated, Eritrea as a CPC, most recently in July 2014. Pentecostals, and others, one percent. On the positive side, there are no religious conflicts in Eritrea and relationships between religious communities are peaceful. President Isaias Afwerki and the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) have ruled Eritrea since the country’s independence from Ethiopia in 1993. President Afwerki and his circle maintain absolute authority. Thousands of Eritreans are imprisoned for their real or imagined opposition to the government, and a 2015 UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea (COI-E) report describes extensive use of torture and forced labor. No private newspapers, political opposition parties, or independent non-governmental organizations exist. The government requires all physically- and mentally-capable people between the ages of 18 and 70 to perform a full-time, indefinite, and poorly-paid national service obligation, which includes military, development, or civil service components. While the national service does include a civil service component, all Eritreans are required to undertake military training and Eritreans cannot choose which type of service they must complete. Hence, there is no alternative for conscientious objectors. The UN and various human The lack of fundamental human rights and economic opportunities in Eritrea has led thousands of Eritreans to flee the country to neighboring states and beyond to seek asylum, including in Europe and the United States. Background There are no reliable statistics of religious affiliation in Eritrea. The Pew Charitable Trust estimates that Orthodox Christians comprise approximately 57 percent of the population, Muslims 36 percent, Roman Catholics four percent, and Protestants, including Evangelical Lutherans, Baptists, Presbyterians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, rights groups reported that individuals completing their national service obligation in the military are prohibited from practicing their religion and that persons who fail to participate in the national service are detained, sentenced to hard labor, abused, and have their legal documents confiscated. Further, a civilian militia program requirement for most males and females between the ages of 18 and 50 not in the military portion of national USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2016 39
Page 1 and 2: UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNA
Page 3 and 4: ANNUAL REPORT OF THE U.S. COMMISSIO
Page 5 and 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ....
Page 7 and 8: INTRODUCTION By any measure, religi
Page 9 and 10: “Migrants are escorted through fi
Page 11 and 12: including the United States. To be
Page 13 and 14: 2016 ANNUAL REPORT OVERVIEW Created
Page 15 and 16: IRFA IMPLEMENTATION IRFA’s Purpos
Page 17 and 18: names in the Federal Register. Desp
Page 19 and 20: target. The IRF Reports covering 20
Page 21 and 22: from the State Department’s CPC l
Page 23 and 24: and religious tolerance be included
Page 25 and 26: Service (USCIS), and Immigration an
Page 27 and 28: freedom concerns in OSCE countries,
Page 29 and 30: language to express congressional c
Page 31 and 32: TIER 1 CPCS DESIGNATED BY THE STATE
Page 33 and 34: BURMA Key Findings In 2015, peacefu
Page 35 and 36: BURMA carrying at least 5,000 indiv
Page 37 and 38: BURMA • Engage the government of
Page 39 and 40: CHINA Key Findings China’s severe
Page 41 and 42: CHINA indicated increased governmen
Page 43: CHINA including the treatment of Ch
Page 47 and 48: ERITREA legal counsel, accorded due
Page 49 and 50: ERITREA property and property inter
Page 51 and 52: IRAN Key Findings Religious freedom
Page 53 and 54: IRAN engaging in religious activiti
Page 55 and 56: IRAN On July 28, 2014, the Secretar
Page 57 and 58: NORTH KOREA Key Findings North Kore
Page 59 and 60: NORTH KOREA become unstable. As a d
Page 61 and 62: USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2016 55
Page 63 and 64: SAUDI ARABIA Key Findings Despite s
Page 65 and 66: SAUDI ARABIA November 2015, his sen
Page 67 and 68: SAUDI ARABIA in the Kingdom during
Page 69 and 70: SAUDI ARABIA • Press the Saudi go
Page 71 and 72: SUDAN Key Findings Religious freedo
Page 73 and 74: SUDAN trials, with no legal represe
Page 75 and 76: SUDAN • Continue to support dialo
Page 77 and 78: TURKMENISTAN Key Findings In 2015,
Page 79 and 80: TURKMENISTAN Punishments for Religi
Page 81 and 82: TURKMENISTAN • Urge the Turkmen g
Page 83 and 84: UZBEKISTAN Key Findings The governm
Page 85 and 86: UZBEKISTAN over the past 15 years a
Page 87 and 88: UZBEKISTAN Afghanistan’s security
Page 89 and 90: TIER 1 CPCS RECOMMENDED BY USCIRF -
Page 91 and 92: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Key Findin
Page 93 and 94: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC where ther
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USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2016 89
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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
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INDONESIA Key Findings Incidents of
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INDONESIA by mobs during Friday pra
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INDONESIA the Rohingya Muslims from
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KAZAKHSTAN Key Findings Although th
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KAZAKHSTAN activity. Court hearings
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KAZAKHSTAN USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2
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LAOS Key Findings Although the Lao
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LAOS worship and appointing religio
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efugees and continues to encourage
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MALAYSIA Key Findings In 2015, many
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MALAYSIA a story about the position
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MALAYSIA that distorts religious te
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RUSSIA Key Findings Along with othe
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RUSSIA Extremism Charges Surveillan
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RUSSIA as to re-register. Some grou
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RUSSIA freeze their assets, and bar
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TURKEY Key Findings Turkey’s cons
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TURKEY since 2011. The communities
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TURKEY U.S. Policy Turkey is an imp
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BAHRAIN During the past year, there
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BANGLADESH In 2015, violent extremi
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BELARUS USCIRF continues to monitor
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BELARUS of Catholic Bishops observe
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HORN OF AFRICA Religious freedom vi
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HORN OF AFRICA radical Muslim cleri
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KYRGYZSTAN The Kyrgyz government re
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WESTERN EUROPE USCIRF continues to
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WESTERN EUROPE Hate Speech Laws The
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APPENDICES USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2
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APPENDIX 1 BIOGRAPHIES OF USCIRF CO
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Glendon is a member of the American
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and a regional federal agency. Rose
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APPENDIX 2 ERITREAN PRISONER LIST 2
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APPENDIX 3 BOKO HARAM ATTACKS Boko
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DATE PERPETRATOR DESCRIPTION LOCATI
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APPENDIX 4 MUSLIM LEADERS IMPRISONE
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APPENDIX 5 AZERBAIJAN PRISONER LIST
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The Case of the Web site www.azad.x
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The “Freedom for Hijab” Case Th
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The Case of the Muslim Unity Moveme
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APPENDIX 6 KAZAKHSTAN PRISONER LIST
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The Criminal Code of the Republic o
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APPENDIX 7 TAJIKISTAN PRISONER LIST
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NO. NAME BIRTH DATE RESIDENCY RESPO
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NO. NAME BIRTH DATE RESIDENCY RESPO
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The Case of “Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Is
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The Case of “Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Is
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The First Case of “Hizb ut-Tahrir
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The Case of Members of the Banned I
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268 USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2016
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