Government security forces frequently employed coercion to induce Christian members of the Chin ethnic minority to convert to Buddhism. The report also said that discrimination in Myanmar continues despite a halt to U.S. aid to the country and a recent suspension of exports for violation of religious freedoms. The report cited Iran for implementing policies designed to intimidate religious groups and continuing abuse of the country's religious minorities, most notably Jews. The report made special mention of this summer's trial of 10 Jews who were convicted on charges of espionage, saying the Iranian court deprived the defendants of nearly all legitimate means of defense. The report cites tens of thousands of arrests, widespread desecration of holy sites and forced removal of religious populations from certain areas of the country, and concludes the Iraqi government has managed to prevent followers from practicing their religion.
Religious minorities are also subject to persecution in Sudan, the report says.
Religious followers who deviate from government-sponsored Islam have been subject to arrest, violence, and even forced conversion. The country's civil war has set the stage, said the report, for continued religious persecution. Some U.S. allies rebuked The State Department also rebuked some allies, including Saudi Arabia, Germany and France. Religions associated with cults or sects are often stigmatized, the report says. It listed Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France and Germany as countries where information campaigns have been disseminated by the government against such religions, including Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Scientology.