Situation of Baha’is in Yemen

Statements

Situation of Baha’is in Yemen

UN Human Rights Council - 37th Session, Item 10

Geneva—22 March 2018

Mr. President,

On the 2nd of January, a judge in Sana’a, Yemen, sentenced a Bahá’i, Mr. Hamed bin Haydara, to death. Arrested in 2013, he has been held in prison for over 4 years, under the most terrible of conditions imaginable in a country ravaged by conflict, illnesses and famine. For months on end he was severely tortured and electrocuted. And finally, after prolonged court proceedings marked by a lack of due process, Mr. bin Haydara was tried in absentia, convicted, and condemned to death on the pretext that he had been in communication with the Universal House of Justice, the highest governing body of the Baha’is, which is located in Israel.

In the sentence—a copy of which has yet to be delivered to Mr. bin Haydara and his lawyers—the judge also ordered that all Bahá’í Assemblies in Yemen be dissolved.

Mr. President,

One can justifiably ask: what relation does a case of so-called espionage have with the existence of a religious community’s elected institutions, if the accusation levelled against Hamed bin Haydara were not intimately linked to his religious beliefs?

In fact, the case of Mr. bin Haydara is part of a systematic refusal by Houthis, under the influence of Iranian authorities, to allow members of this religious minority to freely practice their faith. Currently, six Bahá’ís are being arbitrarily imprisoned in Sana’a, with many others facing the threat of imminent arrest.

In response to this wave of persecution, the international community must continue to urge the Houthi authorities to cease their unjust treatment of the Bahá’ís, who despite the dire situation in their country have refused to side with one group or another and have, instead, endeavoured to serve all Yemenis.