Moin Yeganeh, a Bahá’í in Qatar, has been detained in the country ahead of his likely deportation.

Moin has committed no crime. He is 55 years old and was born in Qatar. His family have lived in Qatar for three generations and his father was one of the country’s first dentists. He is being deported for no reason other than his faith.

Bahá’ís have been discriminated against systematically in Qatar for several decades, and many have been deported or denied ongoing residency. Moin’s case—and several other recent incidents of cancellation of the residency of those Bahá’ís serving in administrative capacities within the institutions of the Bahá’í community—demonstrate an intensification of this pattern of discrimination.

These long-term Bahá’í families from Qatar have no other home: and this appalling state of affairs is a violation of their human rights and their rights as Qatari residents.

The Bahá’í International Community condemns Moin’s detention and imminent deportation. We call on the Government of Qatar to cease such actions against the Bahá’ís, to release Moin, and to cancel any deportation order against him.

These new cases of denial of residency, following the recent wrongful imprisonment of Qatari Baha’i citizen Mr. Remi Rowhani, raises fresh concerns—and we urge the Qatari authorities to relent in this unjust effort to erase a vital and indelible part of Qatar’s rich and diverse society.

• Saba Haddad, Representative, Geneva, [email protected], +41783082219 (English & Arabic)

• Rachel Bayani, Principal Representative, New York, [email protected],  +12128032519 (English, French, German)