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. Saudi Arabia was singled out in the report as a country where religious freedom does not exist. Azerbaijan and Laos were listed as having significantly improved in their respect for religious freedom. In Azerbaijan, the report traced the changed situation to a presidential pledge last November to improve the status of religious minorities. In Laos, the government released in mid-June a large number of Christians who had been imprisoned because of their faith, the report said.