Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) targeted the Baha’i minority in Yemen. Seven Baha’is, who have been detained over the year 2017, are still in prisons run by Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) in Sana’a, including four victims of enforced disappearance.
The authorities of Aden arrested two members of the Baha’i minority and turned them over the Emirati authorities who released them several months later. On Wednesday, January 11, 2017, the authorities of Aden International Airport arrested Hishmatullah Ali Mohammed Thabet (75 years) (Iranian) and his son-in-law, Nadim al-Saqqaf (43 years) from one of the Aden International Airport Terminals. They were both turned over to the Emirati authorities which kept them forcibly disappeared without charge or communicating with a lawyer until the beginning of September 2017, when they were released ahead of the 36th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
During 2017, the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) in Sana’a continued its trial of Hamid Kamal Muhammad Haydara (53 years), a member of the Baha’i minority, with charges of offences punishable by death. On Tuesday morning, January 2, 2018, a verdict of death sentence was issued against Haydara; the confiscation of his property and assets; and the closure of the Baha’i forums in Yemen.[1]
In a joint letter addressed by Mwatana for Human Rights and Amnesty International in March 2017 to Sana’a-based officials after scrutinizing the case file and information, including some prosecution and defense documents, and records of the interrogation sessions, the two organizations have concluded that Haydara is a prisoner of conscience who is being held and tried on account of his conscientiously held beliefs and peaceful activities as a believer in Baha’i religion.[2]
Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) arrested dozens of men and women members of the Baha’i minority in Sana’a, for their cultural activities. On April 28, 2017, Lynn Maalouf, Director of Research at Amnesty International regional office, said: “The detention of Baha’is on account of their faith appears to be part of a wider crackdown on minorities by the Houthi-Saleh authorities, and is making entire families live in fear for their safety and the safety of their loved ones – not to mention that they are a clear violation of Yemen’s obligations under international law”.[3]
During 2017, after undergoing pressure from the various authorities, dozens of members of the Baha’i minority, both Yemenis and foreigners who have legally resided in Yemen for decades, were forced to leave Yemen to other countries.
Article No. 7 of the Human Rights Council Resolution on Yemen 36/31 on Septmeber 2017, Called upon all parties to immediately release all Baha’i detained in Yemen due to their religious belief. [4]
On Wednesday August 10, 2017, Keyuan Mohammed Ali Qaderi (44 years old) (Iranian) was arrested by Ansar Allah group (the Houthis). He is still held in the prison of the Political Security System in Sana’a. To release him, Ansar Allah group required that he should be deported outside Yemen, which puts his life at risk because of the persecution of the members of the Baha’i minority in Iran.
On Sunday October 22, 2017 at about 09:00 am, Akram Saleh Abdullah Ayyash (36 years old) was arrested in Sana’a by Ansar Allah group (the Houthis). In an interview with Mwatana, Akram’s wife, Islah Hussein Saleh Al-Haymi (32 years old), said that his family knows nothing about his whereabouts and he is still forcibly disappeared (till the time of writing this report). [5]
Section Nine: Violations against the Press and Journalists
During 2017, Mwatana documented nine cases of violations against 50 journalists. Eight incidents took place in areas under Ansar Allah (the Houthis) control alongside December events in Sana’a. Ansar Allah (Houthis) detained 41 workers in Yemen Today TV affiliated with the family of former President Saleh and the mouthpiece of the GPC. They were released two weeks later. Mwatana documented one incident in an area under the pro-Hadi forces.
During 2017, Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) continued to detain 12 journalists. Wahid Al-Sufi has been under enforced disappearance for almost three years. His fate has not been revealed until the time of writing this report. The group released journalist Yousef Ajlan in a prisoner swap between the group and the forces and groups loyal to Hadi’s government in Marib after he was arrested in front of his house in Sana’a on October 13, 2016.
Many News websites remain blocked in Yemen because Internet service provider, Yemen Net is under the control of Ansar Allah group (the Houthis).
The Saudi-Emirati-led Coalition denied international media and Human Rights organizations access to parts of Yemen under Ansar Allah group (the Houthis). A number of journalists and correspondents in Taizz, Aden, Hadramaut, and Sana’a were harassed and threatened because of their journalistic work.
Incidents:
- On Wednesday, April 12, 2107, the Specialized Penal Court in Sana’a “condemned journalist Yahyah Abdurraqib Al-Jubaihi to death for collaborating with a foreign country.”[6] The decision was made during a court session that did not last more than 20 minutes. On September 6, 2016, armed men belonging to the Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) detained Al-Jubaihi, along with his two sons, Hamzah and Dhi Yazan. They were taken to the building of the Political Security Apparatus in the capital, Sana’a.
On September 21, 2017, the day that coincided with the anniversary of the Ansar Allah’s (the Houthis’) takeover of the capital, Sana’a, former head of the Political Supreme Council Saleh Al-Sammad issued a decision, overturning the death sentence and ordered the release of Al-Jubaihi. Al-Jubaihi was released on September 24, 2017, while his son Hamza continues to be detained.[7]
- On Sunday, September 17, 2017, journalist Nazar Ali Al-Khaled, who used to work for Al-Thawraah Corporation for Press, Printing and Publication, was invited for lunch by Saleh Al-Sammad, the former Head of the Political Supreme Council, and Abu Ali Al-Hakem, a military leader from the Ansar Allah group (the Houthis).
Speaking to Mwatana for Human Rights, Al-Khaled’s wife said: “Soon after he finished the phone call, in which Al-Sammad and A-l-Hakem invited him for lunch, my husband said they would detain him. Since then, I have never received a phone call from him (as of conducting this interview), and he never picked up a call. I do not know where he is, but I do know that he is with the men of Al-Sammad. When I contact his relatives, who belong to the Ansar Allah group, they would reply, saying: ‘Let him get disciplined”.[8]
Al-Khaled’s wife believed that her husband was detained against the backdrop of his political affiliation to the GPC party. Al-Khaled was later released on Wednesday, 29 September 2017.
- On Friday, October 27, 2017, the pro-Hadi military police in Marib detained journalist Mohammed Hassan Sha’b. He continued to be detained without charging him or allowing him to get a legal counsel. Then he was released on Sunday November 26, 2017.
- In the morning of Saturday, December 3, 2017, the Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) detained as many as 41 employees at the building of the “Al-Yaman Al-Youm TV Channel, which is affiliated to the former president, Saleh, and the mouthpiece of the GPC party. That came after a televised statement by former president Saleh, in which he parted allegiance with the group.
One of the detainees at the TV channel building told Mwatana for Human Rights that the security members tried to fend off the Ansar Allah (the Houthis) forces to the last bullet. The shootout erupted in the morning and continued until 08:30 pm when the building was taken over.
He added: “One of their leaders came over and ordered his men to seize our personal belongings, and we were locked up in the building for about a week. Then were transferred to a villa in Attan area in Sana’a. There, we were locked up in the basement for a week too. They released us, they made give a verbal undertaking that we would never attack the Houthis, and that we would never talk about the leader (referring to former president Saleh), and not to travel abroad. They also wanted us to sign on a written undertaking that we would be ready for jihad at any time the country needs us. The undertaking also included the choosing of a nom de guerre, like Abu X, for instance. Some of us signed on this undertaking, while others declined to”.[9]
[1]Mwatana for Human Rights: Houthi Authorities Must Rescind Haydara’s Death Sentence and Immediately Release Him, January 11, 2018.
[2]Mwatana for Human Rights and Amnesty International: YEMEN: JOINT PUBLIC STATEMENT: IMMEDIATELY RELEASE BAHA’I MAN AT RISK OF DEATH SENTENCE،https://www.amnesty.org/ar/documents/document/?indexNumber=mde31%2f6127%2f2017&language=en.
[3]Amnesty International, Yemen: Yemen Baha’i community faces persecution at hands of Huthi-Saleh authorities، https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/04/yemen-bahai-community-faces-persecution-at-hands-of-huthi-saleh-authorities/.
[4]High Commissioner for Human Rights, Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council 36/31 on September 29, 2017, https://daccess-ods.un.org/TMP/9721900.82073212.html
[5]Mwatana interviewed Islah Hussien Saleh Al-Haymi on November 6, 2017.
[6]Saba News Agency (the Houthi-run version), Death Sentence of Journalist Jubaihi on charges of collaborating with a foreign Country, http://www.saba.ye/ar/news461880.htm.
[7]Saba News Agency (the Houthi-run version), The Head of the Supreme Political Council Pardons Journalist Jubaihi ,http://www.saba.ye/ar/news474823.htm.
[8]Mwatana for Human Rights interviewed the wife of Nazar Ali Al-Khaled on December 27, 2017.
[9]Mwatana for Human Rights interviewed one of the detainee from the staff of the Al-Yaman Al-Youm TV Channel on January 11, 2018.