Congress Passes Bill Aimed At Prosecuting Iraq and Syria Genocide

Last week, Congress gave final passage to HR 390, the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act (full text). The bill now awaits President Trump's signature. The Act provides in part:

Sec. 4... It is the policy of the United States to ensure that assistance for humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs of individuals who are or were nationals and residents of Iraq or Syria ... is directed toward those ... with the greatest need, including those ... from communities of religious and ethnic minorities ... that .... have been identified as being at risk of persecution, forced migration, genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes.

Sec.5.... The Secretary of State and [USAID] ... are authorized to provide assistance ... to support the efforts of entities, including nongovernmental organizations with expertise in international criminal investigations and law, to address genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes ... by ISIS in Iraq....

Sec. 7... Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that includes—... (2) an assessment of— (A) the feasibility and advisability of prosecuting ISIS members for whom credible  evidence exists of having committed genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq, including in domestic courts in Iraq, hybrid courts, and internationalized domestic courts; and (B) the measures needed— (i) to ensure effective criminal investigations of such individuals....

[Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Iranian Christians Denied Refugee Status Sue

A class action lawsuit was filed last week on behalf of 87 Christians, Mandaeans, and other persecuted religious minorities from Iran who (through family members in the United States) have applied for refugee status under the Vienna-based Lautenberg-Specter program. The refugee applicants are currently in Vienna. In February 2018 their refugee applications were denied en masse "as a matter of discretion."  The complaint (full text) in Doe v. Nielsen, (ND CA, filed 4/18/2018), contends that:

Defendants’ conduct violates the Administrative Procedure Act because the program changes that resulted in the mass denials constitute final agency actions that were unlawful, including because they were “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or not in accordance with law.”

The Lautenberg Amendment, originally enacted in 1989, made it easier for Jews and Christians from the former Soviet Union to gain admission to the United States as refugees.  In 2004, Congress enacted the Specter Amendment which  added Iranian religious minorities to those eligible for special protection under the Lautenberg Amendment. Since 2004, some 30,000 Iranian religious minorities have been resettled in the United States. Christian Post reports on the lawsuit.

New Suit Challenges Syrian Refugee Ban In Trump Executive Order; Hawaii Suit Moves Ahead

The portion of President Trump's travel ban Executive Order which suspends entry of refugees from Syria into the United States was challenged in a lawsuit filed on Monday in a Wisconsin federal district court by a Sunni Muslim who was granted asylum status because of torture and religious persecution he had
suffered in Syria.  The complaint (full text) in Doe v. Trump, (WD WI, filed 2/13/2017), says that the ban prevents plaintiff from bringing his wife and 3-year old daughter to the U.S. from Syria under a derivative asylum petition which is being processed by the government. The Executive Order prevents USCIS from adjudicating the petition and the State Department from issuing visas to his family.  It also contends that the nationwide temporary restraining order issued by a Washington federal district court is not broad enough to cover this situation because the TRO applies only to enforcement at "United States borders and ports of entry." This new suit alleges that the Executive Order violates the Establishment Clause, the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses and various statutory provisions. WRN News reports on the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Hawaii's Attorney General announced yesterday that a federal district judge has partially lifted a stay he imposed last week on Hawaii's suit against the Executive Order. This allows an Hawaii resident to be added as a plaintiff.  The court also allowed Hawaii to file an amended complaint (full text) adding a challenge under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. KHON News reports on these developments.

3rd Circuit Judge Questions Religious Mix of Syrian Refugees

In Heartland Alliance National Immigrant Justice Center v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, (7th Cir., Oct. 21, 2016), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in a Freedom of Information Act case upheld the government's refusal to disclose to an advocacy group for asylum seekers the names of so-called "Tier III terrorist organizations." Judge Daniel Manion filed a concurring opinion with extensive dicta questioning the religious mix of Syrian refugees who have been admitted to the country.  He said in part:

I write separately for a second, critical reason, which is my concern about the apparent lack of Syrian Christians as a part of immigrants from that country. It is possible that our case bears a direct link to this enigma.  It is well‐documented that refugees to the United States are not representative of that war‐torn area of the world. Perhaps 10 percent of the population of Syria is Christian, and yet less than one‐half of one percent of Syrian refugees admitted to the United States this year are Christian.... To date, there has not been a good explanation for this perplexing discrepancy.

This is not to suggest that any refugee group is more or less welcome: quite the contrary. The good people of this country routinely welcome immigrants from all over the world. But in a democracy, good data is critical to public debate about national immigration policy.

The Daily Signal reports on Manion's opinion.

Court Says Religious Autonomy Precludes Adjudication of Suit By Torture Victim

In a fascinating decision handed down June 17, an Oklahoma trial court held that the "religious autonomy doctrine" requires it to dismiss a suit against a U.S. church by a convert from Islam to Christianity who was captured and tortured in Syria because of his conversion. The facts are set out more fully in a complaint (full text) filed in 2014.  A Tulsa, Oklahoma resident who was born in Syria decided to convert, but told First Presbyterian Church leaders that his conversion had to remain confidential because he periodically traveled back to Syria and the punishment for apostasy under Sharia law was death. Despite assurances of confidentiality, the church published an announcement of his baptism in its Order of Worship, which was posted on the World Wide Web.  After traveling back to Syria, plaintiff was bound, beaten and tortured by radical Muslims who threatened to behead him. He eventually escaped.  His suit alleges that the church is guilty of negligence, breach of contract and outrageous conduct leading to extreme emotional distress.

In Doe v. First Presbyterian Church USA of Tulsa, Oklahoma, (OK Dist. Ct., June 17, 2016), the court held that the public dissemination of the names of those who have been baptized "is a key part of how the Church requires a conversion and baptism to be 'visible" to the world." The court went on to say:

the simple dispositive issue is whether the public dissemination of Plaintiff's name as a baptized person is "rooted in religious belief"....

[A] secular Court like this one must not consider claims ... that arise out of a sacrament because a sacrament is part of the most sacred beliefs of that religious institution.... Defendants' deeply held religious belief about the visible, public nature of baptism must not be disturbed by this Court. [emphasis in original]

Tulsa World reports on the decision, with additional background.

UN Commission Says ISIS Has Committed Genocide Against Yazidis

Yesterday, the International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic established by the United Nations Human Rights Council issued a report (press release) concluding that ISIS' actions against the Yazidis constitutes genocide and amounts to crimes against humanity and war crimes. The 41-page report (full text) includes a Summary section which reads in part:

ISIS has sought to destroy the Yazidis through killings; sexual slavery, enslavement, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and forcible transfer causing serious bodily and mental harm; the infliction of conditions of life that bring about a slow death; the imposition of measures to prevent Yazidi children from being born, including forced conversion of adults, the separation of Yazidi men and women, and mental trauma; and the transfer of Yazidi children from their own families and placing them with ISIS fighters, thereby cutting them off from beliefs and practices of their own religious community, and erasing their identity as Yazidis. The public statements and conduct of ISIS and its fighters clearly demonstrate that ISIS intended to destroy the Yazidis of Sinjar, composing the majority of the world’s Yazidi population, in whole or in part....

While noting States’ obligations under the Genocide Convention, the Commission repeated its call for the Security Council to refer urgently the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, or to establish an ad hoc tribunal with relevant geographic and temporal jurisdiction.

AP has more on the report.

Islamic State Militants Destroy Two Historic Tombs In Palmyra, Syria

AP reported yesterday that in Syria, Islamic State militants have destroyed two historic mausoleums in or near their recently-captured historic city of Palmyra.  One was the grave of Shiite saint Mohammad Bin Ali, a descendant of Imam Ali who was the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. The second was the grave of Sufi scholar Nizar Abu Bahaa Eddine.  IS radicals are Sunnis who view Shiites as heretics and who believe that visiting tombs and religious shrines amounts to idol worship. Syria's Ministry of Culture posted photos of the destruction. CNN has additional details.

Suit Claims Church's Publicity On Muslim's Conversion Led To His Torture and Near Death In Syria

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a John Doe plaintiff has filed a state court lawsuit seeking $75,000 in punitive damages against the First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa for publishing an online announcement of his December 2012 conversion from Islam to Christianity.  The complaint (full text) in Doe v. First Presbyterian Church U.S.A. of Tulsa, Oklahoma, (OK Dist. Ct., filed 6/9/2014), alleges that plaintiff travels periodically to Syria, and the church knew that any publicity about his baptism would pose a danger to his life. He says that when he was in Syria in January 2013, he was kidnapped, tortured and nearly beheaded before he escaped by forcibly taking a firearm from his captors and killing one of them who was his paternal uncle. He alleges he has received numerous death threats since returning to the United States.

Oklahoma's NewsOn6 and Tulsa Channel 8 report on the lawsuit and quote a statement in response released by the church which says in part: "The lawsuit is brought by a person who received the Sacrament of Baptism before the Congregation during a regular Sunday service at First Church." This appears to contradict the allegation in plaintiff's complaint that he received a "private baptism" at the church.

Islamist Syrian Rebel Group Imposes Strict Controls On Christians In Town of Raqqa

BBC News reported yesterday that in the northern Syrian town of Raqqa, the rebel group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) that controls the city has announced online that it is imposing new controls on Christians there. Christians must pay a special tax of 14 grams of gold, may not carry arms, may not renovate their churches, display crosses or other religious symbols outside churches, ring church bells, or pray in public. The group said that Christians must either convert to Islam or accept these conditions or else risk being killed. ISIS said 20 Christian leaders have accepted the conditions. Rival rebel groups have been fighting ISIS since last month.

USCIRF Says US Should Raise Plight of Religious Minorities At Geneva II Syrian Peace Conference

The Geneva II, UN-backed peace conference on Syria will begin in Montreux, Switzerland on January 22. (Background.) On Tuesday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a press release calling on the U.S. government "to emphasize the plight of religious minorities and the protection of religious freedom for all Syrians" during the Conference. USCIRF Chairman Robert George said:

The Alawite and Christian communities, who are not aligned with either side of the conflict, are inadequately represented by the opposition coalition and the Assad regime does not represent their concerns. The United States needs to work to ensure their views are considered and heard.