Countries that violate religious freedom

According to an AP story carried on Salon today, among the final acts of the Bush administration was the official identification of countries that violate religious freedom and the imposition of sanctions against them.

Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea and Sudan were identified as "countries of particular concern" for abuses of religious worshippers. Of these, however, the Bush administration waived sanctions against Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.

Critics make two points. First, they wonder why other countries, like Iraq, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam, were not added. Second, they wonder why Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan escaped sanctions.

I do not know what criteria are used to determine whether countries violate religious freedom. Nor do I know what sanctions are imposed on those countries that are guilty of such abuses. that said, I do have to wonder how much political issues played in naming or not naming countries for the official list and for countries that were not penalized for abuses.

That leads me to speculate, should preserving and protecting religious freedom for people around the world be subject to political considerations or should it be determined purely by the criteria established? What do you think?