EU Welcomes Release Of 6 Bahai Community Members After Detention By Houthi Rebels

EU Welcomes Release of 6 Bahai Community Members After Detention by Houthi Rebels

The European Union has welcomed the release of six members of the Bahai community who were being held by the rebel Shia Houthi movement in Yemen's Sanaa, a spokesman for the EU External Action Service said on Friday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st July, 2020) The European Union has welcomed the release of six members of the Bahai community who were being held by the rebel Shia Houthi movement in Yemen's Sanaa, a spokesman for the EU External Action Service said on Friday.

The Bahai International Community (BIC) � a non-governmental organization representing members of the Bahai faith � said on Thursday that its six Yemeni representatives, who were imprisoned in the Houthi-held capital of Sanaa for several years due to their religious beliefs, had been released.

The movement's leader in Yemen, Hamed bin Haydara, was first arrested in 2013 and was even sentenced to death over alleged espionage for Israel and apostasy in 2018. His release was eventually ordered by the Houthi authorities in March.

"The European Union welcomes the release of members of the Baha'i community by the movement Ansar Allah after their prolonged detention. One of those detained had been imprisoned since 2013 and was sentenced to death. The EU and its Member States have consistently advocated for the immediate release of all detained individuals," an EU spokesman said in an official statement.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the poor conditions in Yemeni detention facilities made their release "even more urgent," the spokesman added, noting that this step will help to bring peace to the longstanding crisis in Yemen.

The EU reiterated its continued support for the efforts of UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths, the statement read, adding that "nobody should be persecuted on the basis of their belief or political affiliations."

According to various reports, the Iran-backed Houthi authorities sought to prosecute roughly 20 Bahai believers, who consider its 19th-century central figure with Iranian origins as a messenger of God, on multiple charges back in 2018.

According to the BIC, "the Iranian government has blocked them at every turn, solely because of their religious beliefs."

For over five years, Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces, led by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and the Houthi rebels. Despite support from a Saudi-led coalition that has been conducting air, land and sea operations against the Houthis since March 2015, the government troops have failed to regain control over Houthi-controlled areas in northern and western Yemen.