Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List: Southeast Asia

www.uscirf.gov/victims-list

Southeast Asia

Updated September 2023

Burma – Country of Particular Concern

Since the February 2021 coup, the military junta through the 

State Administration Council (SAC) has targeted religious 

minorities in its pursuit of a Buddhist nationalist vision for 

Burma. The SAC has made it a policy to target religious 

leaders as part of a crackdown on religious minorities, 

including by killing and detaining Christian pastors 

and priests. 

Hkalam Samson

religion or belief:

Christian 

arrested: December 4, 2022

sentence:

6 Years’ Imprisonment

health concerns: High Blood Pressure 

reason for persecution:

Religious leadership role

Thian Lian Sang

religion or belief:

Christian 

arrested: September 2021

sentence:

23 Years’ Imprisonment

reason for persecution:

Religious leadership role

Indonesia – Special Watch List

In 2022, a violent state crackdown on protests in GornoBadakhshan Autonomous Province (GBAO), where 

predominantly Ismaili Shi’a Muslim Pamiris reside, led to the 

arrest of more than 200 individuals on charges of “extremism” 

and association with banned groups. Some saw this as a state 

attempt to rein in religious and political opposition. 

Muhammad Kece

religion or belief:

Christian

arrested: August 24, 2021

sentence:

10 Years’ Imprisonment

reason for persecution:

Accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad 

and Islam in YouTube videos

Apollinaris Darmawan

religion or belief:

Christian 

arrested: August 2020

sentence:

5 Years’ Imprisonment

reason for persecution:

Accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad 

and on social media

Malaysia – Special Watch List

Religious freedom conditions continue to stagnate. 

Federal and state governments protect a state-sponsored 

interpretation of Islam through a dual legal system that 

criminalizes blasphemy. Federal and state security services 

have targeted Muslim members of the LGBTQ+ community 

for detention as well as minority religious leaders suspected 

of preaching to Muslims.

Raymond Koh

religion or belief:

Christian

arrested: February 13, 2017

current status: Unknown

religious leader: Yes 

reason for persecution:

Unsubstantiated allegations of seeking converts 

from Islam

Amri Che Mat

religion or belief:

Muslim

arrested: November 24, 2016

current status: Unknown

reason for persecution:

Accused of spreading his religious beliefs

FoRB Victims List Stats

17 out of 2,125

Religion or Belief # of Victims

Christian 8

Unspecified 4

Buddhist 3

Muslim 2

Total 17

Type of Abuse # of Victims

Imprisoned 8

Detained 5

Disappeared 4

Total 17
Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List: Southeast Asia

www.uscirf.gov/victims-list

Southeast Asia

Updated September 2023

Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List Background

The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), as amended by the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016, 

requires USCIRF to:

make publicly available, to the extent practicable...lists of persons it determines are imprisoned or detained, have 

disappeared, been placed under house arrest, been tortured, or subjected to forced renunciation of faith for their religious 

activity or religious freedom advocacy by the government of a foreign country that the Commission recommends for 

designation as a country of particular concern [CPC]...or by a nonstate actor that the Commission recommends for 

designation as an entity of particular concern [EPC]. 

USCIRF developed the Frank R. Wolf Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Victims List—an online public database—to implement this 

provision for countries USCIRF recommends for Country of Particular Concern (CPC) or Special Watch List (SWL) status. The list also 

includes such victims located in the de facto territories of nonstate actors that USCIRF recommends for Entity of Particular Concern (EPC) 

status, according to the same criteria.

Due to limited resources, USCIRF is unable to identify and document all victims that meet the statutory requirement to be included on 

the FoRB Victims List and generally relies on receiving submissions from outside individuals and organizations. As such, the information 

contained in the database does not reflect country, regional, or global trends. Furthermore, percentages highlighted in this section should 

not be used for extrapolation purposes nor interpreted as a particular group experiencing greater violations than another or a particular 

country committing violations at a greater rate than others. To support this project, USCIRF invites those with credible information on 

victims to submit information using the Victims List Intake Form at www.uscirf.gov/form/uscirf-victims-list-intake-form. 

FoRB Victims List Stats Overall

Perpetrator Victims Documented

Algeria 5

Azerbaijan 11

Burma 5

China 770

Cuba 11

Egypt 18

Eritrea 50

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) 2

Houthis 3

India 55

Indonesia 8

Iran 339

Iraq 2

Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) 1

Kazakhstan 15

Malaysia 4

Nicaragua 15

Nigeria 9

North Korea 9

Pakistan 90

Russia 449

Saudi Arabia 46

Sri Lanka 1

Tajikistan 13

Turkmenistan 30

Uzbekistan 87

Vietnam 77

Total 2,125

Religion or Belief Victims Documented

Adivasi 1

Baha’i 163

Bon 1

Buddhist – Hoa Hao 6

Buddhist – Theravada 3

Buddhist – Tibetan 76

Buddhist – Unspecified/Other 28

Christian – Catholic 46

Christian – Church of Almighty God 236

Christian – Jehovah’s Witness 258

Christian – Orthodox 17

Christian – Protestant 130

Christian – Unspecified/Other 66

Duong Van Minh 4

ECKist (Eckankar) 1

Erfan-e Halgheh Practitioner 2

Falun Gong 213

Hindu 10

Humanist 1

Jewish 1

Muslim – Ahmadiyya 23

Muslim – Qur’anist 1

Muslim – Shi’a 39

Muslim – Sufi 63

Muslim – Sunni 385

Muslim – Unspecified/Other 237

Santeria 5

Scientologist 1

Shaman 1

Sikh 1

Yarsani 37

Unknown/Unspecified 69

Total 2,125
Frank R. Wolf FoRB Victims List: Southeast Asia

www.uscirf.gov/victims-list

Southeast Asia

Updated September 2023

Burma: Not Released

Ashin Zero

Shwe Nya War

Ashin Sobitha

Hkalam Samson

Thian Lian Sang

Indonesia: Not Released

Cepdika Eka Rismana

Gratia Pello

Roy Suryo

Apollinaris Darmawan

Doni Irawan Malay

Indriyanto

Muhammad Kece

Indonesia: Unknown

Paruru Daeng Tau

Malaysia: Unknown

Amri Che Mat

Joshua Hilmy

Raymond Koh

Ruth Sitepu