Amnesty International and a group of United Nations experts have called for the immediate release of five Baha’is who have been detained in Yemen for a year.
In a report published on May 23, 2024, Amnesty International stated that the “de facto Houthi authorities” must release the five Baha’i detainees in Sana’a immediately and unconditionally. Amnesty considers their detention for a year in the capital, without charges, as part of an ongoing campaign of persecution against the Baha’i religious minority, amid concerns that these men may face further violations, including torture and other ill-treatment.
Diala Haidar, Amnesty International’s researcher on Yemen, said: “It is utterly unacceptable for people to be targeted and imprisoned solely for exercising their rights and practicing their religion and beliefs. The relentless persecution of Baha’i followers has continued for far too long with total impunity. It is high time to put an end to this mockery of justice”.
A group of UN experts, on May 20, 2024, also called for the immediate release of the five Baha’is still detained in “harsh” conditions and urged the de facto authorities to refrain from any actions that might endanger their physical and psychological well-being.
May 25 marks the first anniversary of the raid and abduction of 17 Baha’is, including five women, by Houthi militia in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. They were forcibly disappeared for almost four months before their families learned they were being held in Houthi-run security and intelligence detention centers in Sana’a. Between June and December 2023, 12 of them, including all the women, were released under severe international pressure but under extremely strict conditions.
On various occasions, Baha’is and other religious minority members have faced detention, torture, acts amounting to enforced disappearance, and ill-treatment at the hands of the de facto authorities, violating their rights to freedom of expression, opinion, peaceful assembly, and association. Some have been sentenced to death for practicing their religious rituals in judicial proceedings that did not meet fair trial guarantees.
In 2020, the Houthis released six Baha’i detainees after nearly seven years of arbitrary detention on the condition that they go into exile.
The detention of Baha’is due to their religion violates Yemen’s obligations under international law and is part of a broader campaign of repression against minorities by the Houthi authorities, documented by Amnesty International since 2015. On several occasions, official figures have incited violence and discrimination against Baha’is in public speeches.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities lists the rights enjoyed by persons belonging to minorities, such as the right to enjoy their own culture, the right to declare and practice their religion, and the right to use their language.
The Same Justice organization emphasizes that religious pluralism and freedom of religion are inherent human rights issues, stressing the need to protect religious minorities in accordance with human rights laws. The center underscores the urgent necessity for the release of Baha’i detainees in Yemen.
