The Baha’i International Community welcomes the recent statements by European Foreign Ministers and officials calling on the Houthi authorities to implement the decision to release the imprisoned Baha’is in Yemen, which was announced over three months ago. 

A joint statement by the Foreign Ministers of Sweden and Germany and the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom published on 1 July 2020 outline the urgent actions needed for bringing peaceful change to Yemen, including the immediate release of six Baha’is imprisoned solely for their beliefs. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in Luxembourg also made a statement on 6 July 2020 calling for the release of the Baha’is, stating that he “continues to monitor the situation of these detainees closely together with the United Nations and the European Union”.

The six Baha’is have been wrongfully imprisoned in Sana’a for several years on the basis of their religious beliefs and made to face a series of baseless charges. They include Mr. Waleed Ayyash, Mr. Akram Ayyash, Mr. Hamed bin Haydara, Mr. Kayvan Ghaderi, Mr. Badiullah Sanai, and Mr. Wael al-Arieghie. 

In the joint statement, the Foreign Ministers affirm that they have “a global responsibility to ease the suffering of the Yemenis”, thus calling on the Houthis, among other things, to “implement their announcement to release members of the Baha’i faith.” The Luxembourg Foreign Minister similarly states that he is “concerned by the continued incarceration of six Baha'is by the Houthis in Yemen, despite the fact that their release had been announced on 25th March.” 

In March, Mr. Mahdi al-Mashat, the President of the Houthi Supreme Political Council in Sana’a, ordered the unconditional release of all Baha’i prisoners and a pardon for Mr. Hamed bin Haydara, one of the imprisoned Baha’is sentenced to death for his beliefs. To date, the Houthis have not taken any steps to implement this order, raising increasing concern for the detainees during a health pandemic that is gripping Yemen and the rest of the world. 

In addition to the statements, other European officials have also joined their voices calling for the release of the Baha’is. This includes the Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief of the Netherlands, Jos Douma, German Member of Parliament, Heribert Hirte and UK Member of Parliament, Rehman Chishti.