Iran, 27 other countries critiqued by US watchdog for religious freedom violations
United StatesRNS A watchdog for global religious freedom has used its new annual report to call out the Iranian Government for targeting women’s rights protesters during demonstrations last year. The report also points out the country’s “decades-long campaign” against religious minorities. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom criticised Iran for repressing the religious rights […]
US religious freedom commissioner Nury Turkel on Uighurs and his new post
AP Nury Turkel, co-founder of the Uyghur Human Rights Project and former president of the Uyghur American Association, was appointed to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom late last month. Born in the Xinjang province of China, he is a leading human rights advocate on behalf of fellow Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic minority group […]
Uighur activists celebrate religious freedom agency’s first Uighur commissioner
RNS House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has appointed prominent Uighur American attorney and activist Nury Turkel to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent religious freedom watchdog agency funded by Congress. Turkel’s appointment has been celebrated widely by Uighur rights activists, who say the move is a clear signal to the Chinese Government that […]