Father Bernardo Cervellera (director of Asia News), an expert in Chinese affairs, invited to Strasbourg to tell of the breaches of religious freedom in the world, explains: "It often happens in China that some bishops disappear or are arrested. Today, there are 13 Catholic priests under hard labour. Those who show their faith undergo the most brutal tortures: the victims are Christians as well as men and women of other faiths. There is a tragic repression under way, which confirms that there are no fundamental freedoms in this country". "In Pakistan adds Cervellera people accused of blasphemy end up in jail. But this law is enforced above all to settle all sorts of scores, to torment women, to shut up Catholic schools. And Saudi Arabia is spreading the criterion of violence against anyone who professes a religion other than the Islamic one". Attilio Tamburrini mentions that "For seven year, ‘Aiuto alla Chiesa che soffre’ has drawn up a yearly report on religious freedom in the world. We find breaches in very many countries, and clearly enough these are countries that also deny other freedoms, such as freedom of expression and trade unions. There are serious problems in some former Communist countries, while in northern Cyprus, under the Turkish influence, 68 of the 82 churches have been converted into mosques". "These problems concludes Tamburrini are often underestimated by the media and so they are not publicly known".
