UN expert on freedom of religion Ahmed Shaheed stated [press release] on Monday that Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen must end harassment against the Bahá’í [official website] community in Sana’a. Shaheed’s statement was prompted by reports of increased arbitrary arrests and detentions against the Bahá’í community. In addition to demanding Bahá’í community members be released, he also said that Yemen must begin an inquiry into the disappearance of Walid Ayyash and Mahmood Humaid, who were arrested by political authorities in April and whose whereabouts are unknown. Shaheed said “the new wave of court summons and arrest orders appears to be an act of intimidation pressuring the Yemeni Bahá’ís to recant their faith.” Such discrimination and harassment against the religious minority threatens the Republic of Yemen’s independence and is a violation of Yemeni individuals’ rights.

The state of human rights in Yemen is rapidly deteriorating since October, when UN rights expert Heiner Bielefeldt condemned [JURIST report] Yemen for detaining individuals belonging to the religious community. In April the Public Prosecutor summoned 30 Bahá’í community members to appear in court and the Houthi de facto authorities ordered the arrest of 25 members. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein reported that more than 13,000 civilians have been killed or wounded in the last two years and more than 80 percent of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance, in his March statement calling for an immediate ceasefire [JURIST report] in the Yemen war and continued international support in ending the conflict. In February the Human Rights Watch called on the US [JURIST report] to investigate the January US raid on Al-Qaeda that resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people.