Category Archives: Freedom of religion

World’s highest jailing rate found in Uyghur county of China, data leak suggests

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One in 25 people sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges in Konasheher, Xinjiang province, where Communist party represses Muslim minority

Nearly one in 25 people in a county of the Uyghur heartland of China has been sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges, in what is the highest known imprisonment rate in the world, an Associated Press review of leaked data shows.

A list obtained and partially verified by the Associated Press cites the names of more than 10,000 Uyghurs sent to prison in just Konasheher county, one of dozens in southern Xinjiang. In recent years, China has waged a brutal crackdown on the Uyghurs, a largely Muslim minority, which it has described as a “war on terror”.

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Nigerian humanist jailed for 24 years after pleading guilty to blasphemy

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Mubarak Bala’s case seen as part of a clampdown on critics of religious orthodoxy in a deeply conservative region

A prominent Nigerian humanist has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after pleading guilty to blasphemy charges, in a landmark case that has put a new focus on the threats to freedom of expression in the west African country.

Mubarak Bala, the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was sentenced on Tuesday afternoon, two years after his arrest at his home in the northern Kaduna state on 28 April 2020. He was then taken to neighbouring Kano, where calls for action against him had been made by members of the religious establishment in the majority Muslim and conservative state.

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Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, imprisoned for ‘insulting Islam’, freed after 10 years

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It’s unclear if Saudi authorities placed restriction on his release but human rights campaigners promise to fight them

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been released from prison in Saudi Arabia after serving a 10-year sentence for advocating an end to religious influence on public life, his wife said on Friday.

“Raif called me. He is free,” his wife, Ensaf Haidar, who lives in Canada with their three children and had been advocating for his release, told AFP.

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Fears for Nigerian humanist held for blasphemy in sharia state

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Mubarak Bala, head of humanist association, taken to Kano after Facebook posts criticising Islam

A prominent Nigerian humanist accused of blasphemy has been arrested and taken to the northern city of Kano, according to figures close to him.

Mubarak Bala, the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was taken from his home on 28 April in neighbouring Kaduna state and taken to Kano, where a warrant for his arrest was issued, Leo Igwe, a fellow Nigerian humanist and human rights advocate, said.

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Australian Christian Lobby backs sacking of employees with no ‘Christian sexual ethic’

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ACL director Martyn Iles says businesses should have greater powers to hire and fire, but denies Christians have a ‘special vendetta’ against LGBT people

The Australian Christian Lobby has backed calls for religious businesses such as aged care providers to gain more powers of hiring and firing employees who do not conform to religious teachings.

In a debate at the National Press Club on Wednesday the ACL director Martyn Iles backed calls from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference for greater powers to fire employees who don’t conform to a “Christian sexual ethic” but claimed Christians don’t have a “special vendetta” against the LGBT community.

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Scott Morrison prays at Hillsong conference – video

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Australian prime minister Scott Morrison speaks about the debate around freedom of religion at the opening of the national conference of the evangelical Hillsong church. 'It’s not the laws that makes freedom of religion work, it’s the culture that accepts it,' he tells a crowd of 21,000 people. 'I speak about my faith ... because I want everyone in this place to feel comfortable talking about their faith in this country. It’s not a political agenda, it’s who we are.' Morrison says while freedom of belief in Australia is fundamental, Christians need to prioritise love over judgments. He used the example of persecuted Christians in Soviet Russia: 'You didn’t hear the stories that they were complaining about their rights. They were out there for God ... This country needs more love, less judgment'

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