Commissioner Tenzin Dorjee, Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), has called for the release of “prisoners of conscience” in repressive regimes – including the Panchen Lama who is currently being held in China. The USCIRF looked at the cases of seven people held in Tibet, Vietnam, Xinxiang and Pakistan. Dorjee is the first Buddhist and person of Tibetan origin to chair the commission.