WASHINGTON, Dec 18: The United States on Thursday criticized allies like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, adversaries like North Korea and Iran and emerging partners like China for failing to respect religious freedom.

The State Department’s Annual Report on Religious Freedom cited numerous instances of religious persecution around the world and, in its executive summary, described significant improvements in only two countries: Kazakhstan and Laos.

The report rapped China, a growing US partner on the North Korean nuclear issue, by saying it continued to try to restrict religious practice to state-sanctioned groups while others suffered varying degrees of “interference and harassment”.

“Members of some unregistered religious groups were subjected to restrictions, leading in some cases to intimidation, harassment, and detention,” the report said in its section on “totalitarian or authoritarian attempts to control religious belief or practice”.

SAUDI ARABIA: The report was particularly critical of Saudi Arabia, saying bluntly that “Freedom of religion does not exist” in the kingdom.

The report found that the Saudi authorities continued to enforce a strict, conservative version of Sunni Islam and to suppress the practice of other interpretations of Islam as well as all other religions.

The report also cited Egypt for its prosecutions of people, including Muslims, for unorthodox religious beliefs and practices under the charge of insulting heavenly religions.

Iran was cited for officially sanctioned discrimination against minorities.

The report alleged that Bahais, Jews, Christians as well as Sunnis and Sufi Muslims, were subject to intimidation, harassment and imprisonment. They also complained of discrimination in access to employment, education and housing.

In North Korea, which the United States accuses of seeking nuclear weapons, “genuine religious freedom does not exist,” the report said, citing reports of executions, torture and imprisonment of religious persons in the country.—Reuters