US Report Condemns China, North Korea, and Others For Persecution of Religious Freedom

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) speaks as State Department Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback (L) listens during a press event at the State Department May 29, 2018 in Washington, DC. The State Department held the event to release the 2017 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. Alex Wong/Getty Images

WASHINGTON–China, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia and a handful of others continue to abuse religious freedom in their respective countries without hesitation, a U.S. State Department report says.

“The United States will not stand by as spectators,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during the press briefing at the State Department on Tuesday to introduce the latest annual international religious freedom report. “We will get in the ring and stand in solidarity with every individual who seeks to enjoy their most fundamental of human rights.”