Saudi Arabia was cited as the top violator yesterday in an annual report issued by the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom on the status of religious liberties worldwide.
"These are not idiosyncratic American perceptions of religious freedom," committee Vice Chairman Michael Young said. The report was issued as Saudi Arabia was reeling over at least 20 deaths caused by suicide bombings in an exclusive Riyadh suburb inhabited by foreigners.
The commission was formed by Congress in 1998 and remains the world's only government-sanctioned entity to investigate and report religious-freedom violations. Because Saudi Arabia has the most onerous violations among the 15 countries cited, the report said, the U.S. government needs to get serious about pressuring the desert kingdom to reform.
"It's time to apply the same standards to Saudi Arabia that are applied elsewhere," commission Chairman Felice...