The recent indictment of a Tibetan woman by the Justice Department should not be used by federal officials to justify the United States’ policy of detaining asylum seekers in jail-like settings for months or longer when these individuals have committed no crimes, Human Rights First said today.
Sonam Chodon, who was granted asylum in the United States based on her claim that she had fled religious persecution in Tibet, was indicted by the Justice Department last week. From news reports, it appears that U.S. officials do not contest that Sonam is Tibetan, but believe that she had not stayed at a Buddhist convent in Nepal, as she had stated. Sonam’s lawyers have said she will voluntarily appear before the court and will plead not guilty to the charges.
The government’s assertions will be assessed in the courts. “But this case should not -- and should not be used to -- obscure the fact that persecuted believers who seek freedom of religion and the protection of the United States are often jailed like criminals and denied the protection they deserve,” said Eleanor Acer, the Director of Human Rights First’s Asylum Program.
Sonam’s case came to public attention when immigration officials continued to detain her even after she had been ruled eligible last year for asylum by an immigration judge. At the time, she had already been held in a Virginia jail for about six months.
The prolonged detention of refugees seeking asylum in the United States has come under increasing scrutiny by many who challenge the wisdom and necessity of detaining those found not to pose any threat to U.S. security. A report issued by Human Rights First last year on the detention of asylum seekers in the United States cited to Sonam’s case as an example of the increased use of detention in the new security climate. Her continued detention was also the subject of an article in The Washington Post in January 2005.
The persecution of religious believers around the word is a serious and growing problem, as detailed most recently in the State Department’s annual country reports on human rights practices. There is an increasing recognition by many in the United States that, when those in flight from religious persecution seek refuge here, they are often treated unfairly in an asylum system that is bewildering and difficult to navigate.
Related Links:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/asylum/libertys_shadow/Libertys_Shadow.pdf
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/media/2005_alerts/asy_0208_relig.htm
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/refugees/reports/religion_surv_1102.pdf
