Six Baha’is Detained in Yemen
August 19th, 2008
According to the Associated Press (via The Jerusalem Post), six Iranian followers of the Baha’i faith have been detained in Yemen. Although Baha’is are known to not engage in politics, a Yemeni security official alleged the arrested Baha’is were members of a rebel group.
Unfortunately, not much information is currently available regarding the detainees, but we will be sure to keep you updated as soon as we learn more. What we do know for sure is: the Iranian government is unlikely to petition for their release.
Update: The Associated Press has a more extensive report, a copy of which can be found here:
Mansour Hayel, vice president of the Omar al-Gawi Political Forum that advocates for human rights and civil liberties in Yemen, blamed the arrests on the growing influence of extremist Muslim groups in Yemen.
Read the full report here.
Concerning Religious Freedom in Yemen you may want to read this report by the US State Department:
International Religious Freedom Report 2007 - Yemen
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90224.htm
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Thanks for the link, Marco.
While trying to find out more about the Baha’i community in Yemen, we found a 1993 report which stated the presence of 20-30 “underground Baha’is” in northern Yemen. By 1999, the US Department of State’s annual report on religious freedom stated that there were”no longer credible reports of a Baha’i community in northern Yemen”
While browsing through Yemeni websites, we noticed many expressed their distrust of the Baha’i presence in Yemen, and exasperation at the growing numbers (we have been told it is due to Baha’is escaping from persecution in nearby Oman). Some have even went as far as accusing the Baha’i minority of being responsible for a large number of negative reports that are emerging about Yemen.
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