WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2019) The United States has renewed Russia's placement Russia on a special watch list of countries that it believes violate religious freedoms, while also adding Cuba, Nicaragua, Nigeria and Sudan, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in a statement on Tuesday.
"The Department renewed the placement of Comoros, Russia, and Uzbekistan on a Special Watch List (SWL) for governments that have engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom, and added Cuba, Nicaragua, Nigeria, and Sudan to this list," Pompeo said. "Sudan was moved to the SWL due to significant steps taken by the civilian-led transitional government to address the previous regime's systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom."�
Pompeo also announced that on December 18 the State Department re-designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern over engagement in "systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom."�
In addition, Pompeo designated the Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab, the Islamic State terrorist group (ISIS), ISIS-Khorasan, the Taliban, Boko Haram (all outlawed in Russia), and Yemen's Houthis as "entities of particular concern," the statement added.
