John Hanford

John V. Hanford (born c. 1952) is the Ambassador at Large of the Office of International Religious Freedom of the US State Department which was created under the provisions of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. He was appointed to this position in May, 2005 by the President of the United States. [cite web
year = 2005
url = http://www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/
title = International Religious Freedom
publisher = US Department of State
accessdate = April 27
accessyear = 2006]

A graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Hanford later worked as a foreign-affairs aide to Senator Richard Lugar.

2006 Religious Freedom Report

The U.S. State Department issued its annual report on religious freedom on September 15, 2006. Ambassador Hanford told reporters the State Department would announce a new list of Countries of Particular Concern in a few weeks. [http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-09-15-voa55.cfm US Religion Report Targets Uzbekistan, Iran, China] VOA News]

Uzbekistan

He strongly suggested that Uzbekistan, which was not on the list in 2005, could be added to the list, saying the government was the most restrictive government in Central Asia and had added "outrageous" amendments to the state law governing religion. Ambassador Hanford said, "The most serious problem over the last few years in Uzbekistan has been the inappropriate arrest of some Muslims who are simply observant, maybe praying five times a day. Perhaps they have a beard, and just on the basis of these outward signs, they are suspected of having terrorist ties. And in some cases, these people have been horribly treated."

References