{"id":65,"date":"2008-10-02T16:32:46","date_gmt":"2008-10-02T16:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/10\/religious-asylum-claims-in-the.html"},"modified":"2008-10-02T16:32:46","modified_gmt":"2008-10-02T16:32:46","slug":"religious-asylum-claims-in-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/10\/religious-asylum-claims-in-the.html","title":{"rendered":"Religious Asylum Claims in the United States"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry, your discussion of the United States’ record in religious asylum cases brought to mind another case we have worked on. We filed an amici curiae brief with a U.S. district court in Pennsylvania along with our international affiliate in support of Sameh Sami S. Khouzam, a Coptic Christian from Egypt who would likely face torture and possible death if returned to his native country. It is well known that Coptic Christians face terrible persecution in Egypt, including kidnappings, forced conversions, torture, and death.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

An immigration judge had concluded that “the evidence is overwhelming that [Khouzam] will more likely than not be subjected to torture by a responsible Egyptian government official,” and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that Khouzam could not be deported under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). In 2007, however, he was taken into custody to be sent back to Egypt after the United States received “diplomatic assurances” from the Government of Egypt that he would not be tortured. Fortunately, the district court judge agreed with our arguments and allowed Khouzam to remain in the United States due to the clear risk that he would be tortured despite Egypt’s assurances to the contrary.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

Barry, I think we would agree that the best way to help people like Khouzam and others who face severe religious persecution is for the global community to use its influence to pressure nations like Iran and Egypt to respect basic human rights. In this vein, the Presidency of the European Union issued a declaration <\/a>last week stating the EU’s concern over “the deterioration in the exercise of freedom of religion or belief, and especially the freedom of worship, in Iran, where the pressure on people belonging to religious minorities has worsened in recent months.”<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

In addition, the declaration stated, “[t]he European Union is deeply disturbed by the arrests since April of Iranian converts to Christianity and members of the Baha’i community. It calls for their immediate and unconditional release and the cessation of all forms of violence and discrimination against them.” The declaration also expressed concern “at the Iranian parliament’s decision to consider a draft law making apostasy one of the crimes punishable by death” and stated: “The European Union urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to reconsider its decision to examine the law in question, release all those who have been imprisoned because of their religious affiliation and allow its citizens to exercise their freedom of religion or belief in full.”<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

It is encouraging to see the European Union taking a stand for human rights and religious freedom. <\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry, your discussion of the United States’ record in religious asylum cases brought to mind another case we have worked on. We filed an amici curiae brief with a U.S. district court in Pennsylvania along with our international affiliate in support of Sameh Sami S. Khouzam, a Coptic Christian from Egypt who would likely face…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,32,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-courts","category-international-law","category-religious-freedom"],"yoast_head":"\nReligious Asylum Claims in the United States - Lynn v. 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Jay Sekulow has also served as a faculty member for the Office of Legal Education at the United States Department of Justice.  As a member of the faculty he instructed Assistant United States Attorneys and investigators in the First Amendment issues associated with prosecution of obscenity. An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms. Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation.  In the Mergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses.  In the Lamb's Chapel case, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns. A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation.  Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses in constitutional law.  The ACLJ, under Sekulow's direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune concluded that the ACLJ has \"led the way\" in Christian legal advocacy.  In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America and called the ACLJ \"a powerful counterweight\" to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is \"the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.\"  Sekulow's work on the issue of judicial nominees - including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court - has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \"100 Most Influential Lawyers\" in the United States (1994, 1997).  He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as \"The Public Sector 45\" named by The American Lawyer (January\/February 1997).  The magazine said the designation represents \"45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.\" Sekulow brings insight and education to listeners daily with his national call-in radio program, Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on nearly 850 radio stations.  Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet.  Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS.  He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation's leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times. A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor's degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.  Following graduation, Sekulow served as a tax trial attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service.  In that capacity, Sekulow prepared and brought to trial tax cases on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury in United States Tax Court. He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles. Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/jsekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}