Yemen: One year on, Huthis must release Baha’is arbitrarily detained over their religion and end persecution of minorities

The Huthi de facto authorities must immediately and unconditionally release five members of the Baha’i community who have been arbitrarily detained in Sana’a without charges for almost a year as part of the ongoing persecution of people of the Baha’i minority faith, Amnesty International said today, amid concerns that the men might be at risk of further violations, including torture and other ill-treatment. On 25 May 2023, Huthi armed forces stormed a peaceful gathering of the Baha’is in a private residence in Sana’a and arbitrarily detained 17 people, including five women. They forcibly disappeared them for around four months until their families learned they were being held at Huthi-run security and intelligence detention centres in Sana’a. Between June and December 2023, 12 individuals including all five women were released following international pressure. However, five remain arbitrarily detained and are being denied their right to legal counsel. The five Bahai’s still arbitrarily detained include two humanitarian workers, Abdul’elah Muhammad al-Boni, 30, and Hassan Tariq Thabet Al-Zakari, 28, and a human rights activist, Abdullah al-Olofi, 45. The other two are Muhammad Bashir Abdel Jalil, 25, and Ibrahim Ahmad Jo’eil, 49. “It’s completely unacceptable that people are being targeted and put behind bars simply for exercising their rights and practising their religion and belief. The relentless persecution of members of the Baha’i community has gone on for too long with total impunity. It’s high time this travesty of justice ends,” said Diala Haidar, Yemen Researcher at Amnesty International.“Huthi authorities must immediately end all forms of discrimination and persecution of the Baha’i minority and all others who are targeted solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of religion and belief. The Baha’is and members of any other minority faiths must be allowed to freely practice their religion without discrimination or reprisals.”According to credible sources, the Huthis demanded a guarantor and the payment of a “commercial guarantee” as conditions for releasing the 12 detained Baha’is. As a precondition for release, some of those freed were forced to sign pledges denouncing their religion in flagrant violation of their right to freedom of religion and belief.