FACTBOX: U.S. cites repression of religious freedoms

Mon Oct 26, 2009 5:32pm EDT

(Reuters) - The United States on Monday presented its annual survey of global religious freedom, noting progress in areas such as interfaith dialogue but continued repression in North Korea, Iran and other countries.

The State Department's International Religious Freedom Report (www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf) surveyed 198 countries. Following are some of the conclusions in the report, which cited eight countries for "special concern" over their limits to religious freedom:

NORTH KOREA

North Korea's communist government, often cited as one of the world's worst abusers of human rights, is also a harsh opponent of religious liberty, the report said.

"Genuine religious freedom does not exist," it said.

Despite a relative lack of information, the report said North Korea maintained a raft of controls over religious groups and religious practice.

"The government deals harshly with all opponents, including those who engage in religious practices deemed unacceptable by the regime," the report said, adding that some of the estimated 150,000-200,000 people believed held in political prison camps were there for their religious beliefs.

"Prison conditions were harsh, and refugees and defectors who had been in prison stated that prisoners held on the basis of their religious beliefs generally were treated worse than other inmates," the report said.

IRAN

Respect for religious freedom in the Islamic republic deteriorated over the past nine months with the government creating a threatening environment for almost all religious minorities, the report said.

"All non-Shi'a religious minorities suffered varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination," it said, adding that Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians were also targeted despite official status as "protected" religious minorities.

Iran's practice of Islamic law, its restrictions on non-Muslim religious expression and the overlap of religious and political ideologies made the country particularly hostile to religious freedom, particularly for the Baha'i religious minority, which reports that more than 200 Baha'is have been killed since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979.

CHINA

The report found some signs of progress in China with regard to state-approved religions. But it noted continued severe repression in Tibet, home of the exiled Dalai Lama, and among Xinjiang's Muslim Uighurs, who saw protests violently put down in July.

"The government repressed the religious activities of 'underground' Roman Catholic clergy in large part due to their avowed loyalty to the Vatican, which the Government accused of interfering in the country's internal affairs. The Government also continued to restrict severely the activities of groups it designated as 'evil religions,' including several Christian groups and Falun Gong," the report said.

The report said the government harassed several prominent religious leaders during the February 2009 visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and often classified membership in an unregistered religious group as a crime of "disturbing the social order."

"The government detained, arrested, or sentenced to prison terms many religious leaders and adherents for activities related to their religious practice; however, the Government denied detaining or arresting anyone solely because of his or her religion."

SAUDI ARABIA

U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, where Sunni Islam is the official religion, neither recognizes nor protects freedom of religion but guarantees the right for all -- including non-Muslims -- to worship in private.

The promise was not always honored, however, leading to "significant political, economic, legal, social, and religious discrimination" particularly for Shi'a Muslims.

The report noted some limited improvements, including King Abdullah's effort to promote interfaith dialogue and religious moderation.

But religious repression remained a source of concern.

SUDAN

Sudan's constitution allows for freedom of religion throughout the country. But in practice Islam is favored in the Muslim-dominated north of the country while the semi-independent South Sudan has generally free practice of religion, the report said.

Laws which punish conversion, blasphemy or defamation of Islam exist in the north, while the government has also codified aspects of Sharia Islamic laws into the legal system, with penalties dependent on the religion of the accused.

UZBEKISTAN

The central Asian nation restricts many rights only to registered religious groups, imposing criminal penalties on activities such as proselytizing and disseminating religious literature.

"Despite an improved atmosphere in most Muslim communities in recent years, respect for religious freedom declined in several areas during the reporting period," the report said.

"The government continued to commit serious abuses of religious freedom in its campaign against extremist or independent Islamic organizations. In many cases authorities severely mistreated persons arrested on suspicion of extremism, using torture, beatings, and harsh prison conditions."

ERITREA

The horn of Africa nation, with a population split among various Muslim and Christian groups, has not yet implemented a 1997 constitution providing for religious freedom.

"The government's record on religious freedom remained poor," the report said, adding that thousands of members of unapproved religious groups were harassed and detained, some of them tortured and forced to recant.

The government forbids what it deems to be radical forms of Islam along with numerous small Protestant churches, Baha'is and Jehovah's Witnesses, it said, citing what it said were reliable reports that hundreds of people had been detained in recent months for their religious beliefs.

(Writing by Andrew Quinn; Editing by Eric Walsh)