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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he pointed to Russia, China and eight other countries of concern for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.
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Nigeria, which was on last year’s list and where Blinken will visit this week, has been removed from the list. Other countries still on the US list for “violations of religious freedom” are Myanmar, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Algeria, Comoros, Cuba and Nicaragua were placed on the watch list. “The United States will not relinquish its commitment to advocating freedom of religion or belief for all and in every country,” Blinken said, as quoted by The Moscos Times, Thursday (11/18/2021).
“In too many places around the world, we continue to see governments harassing, arresting, threatening, imprisoning and killing individuals simply for trying to live their lives according to their beliefs.”
The latest annual report by US diplomats on religious freedom highlights the Russian government’s “misuse of laws on extremism to restrict the peaceful activities of religious minorities.”
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“Religious groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) report authorities continue to investigate, detain, imprison, torture and/or physically abuse people or confiscate their property because of their religious beliefs,” Blinken said.
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