Human Rights Advocates Call on Japan to Stop Religious Persecution and Imprisonments

News provided by

International Coalition for Religious Freedom

Nov 10, 2010, 03:45 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Human rights advocates and religious leaders in 11 major cities from New York to Seattle plan a coordinated protest November 16th against the continued inaction by Japanese government to stop the abuse and discrimination of minority religious believers in that country.

Since 1966, more than 4,000 members of the Unification Church of Japan have been illegally confined by "deprogrammers" in an attempt to force them leave the religion which they, as adults, freely chose to join. Currently, 10 to 20 Unificationists in Japan are abducted each year. Victims who escape their captors report the use of force, prison-like conditions, and intense pressure to change his or her faith. There have been reports of beatings, starvation, and rape.

In protest of the Japanese government's refusal to stop the kidnappings and abuse, 120 human rights leaders and Christian pastors of the American Clergy Leadership Conference gathered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia last month to demand the end of abusive treatment of religious believers.

The coordinated 11-city protests include:

  • Atlanta
  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Denver
  • Houston
  • Los Angeles
  • Miami
  • New York
  • Portland
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle

When: The morning of Wednesday, November 16th

Where: The Japanese consulates in the cities listed above

For more information, please visit www.stopjapanabductions.org.

Follow on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-Japan-Abductions/145646672144455. View images of past events: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stopjapanabductions/.

About ICRF:        

The International Coalition for Religious Freedom is a non-profit, non-sectarian, educational organization dedicated to defending the religious freedom of all, regardless of creed, gender or ethnic origin.

SOURCE International Coalition for Religious Freedom

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

icon3
440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers
icon1
9k+
Digital Media
Outlets
icon2
270k+
Journalists
Opted In
GET STARTED