Amid international condemnations… the European Union calls on the Houthis to release the Baha’is unconditionally

Following local and international human rights and official condemnations, the heads of the EU missions to Yemen condemned the kidnapping of 17 members of the Baha’i community by the Houthi terrorist militia in Sana’a, which is under their control.

In a joint statement released on Twitter by the European Union Mission in Yemen (EULEX) on Friday, the EU ambassadors expressed deep concern over the arrest of 17 members of the Baha’i community, including 5 women, and called for their immediate and unconditional release, as well as other members of the community who had been detained.

Freedom of religion and belief is a fundamental right of all individuals, and must not be compromised in Yemen, in line with relevant obligations under international law, the statement said.
Earlier, Houthi militias, the Iranian arm in Yemen, broke into an annual gathering of Baha’is in Sana’a and kidnapped 17 people, which was condemned by Washington. The U.S. ambassador to Yemen, Stephen Vaughan, said: “We condemn the attack by the Houthis on a peaceful gathering of Baha’is in Sana’a city last May 25, which resulted in the forced disappearance of at least 17 people.”
The US ambassador affirmed his country’s support for the Yemeni people and their right to freedom of religion, expression and belonging.
Earlier, Human Rights Watch condemned the Houthi group’s persecution of the Baha’i minority in the capital, Sana’a.

The organization said that Baha’is in Yemen have been systematically detained, disappeared and denied by the Houthis, calling for international solidarity with them and pressuring the Huthis to release those abducted from them, noting that Baha’is, a religious and minority sect in Yemen, face ongoing persecution from the Houthis.
The Baha’i League at the United Nations said in a statement that the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist gang has turned towards violence and abuse across Yemeni society, at a time when governments in the region are seeking peace, putting aside outdated social differences, promoting peaceful coexistence and looking forward to a bright future.

The Houthi gang has stepped up the persecution of religious minorities, carried out vicious armed attacks on peaceful civilians and repeatedly violated the human rights of the Baha’is and others, it said.

According to human rights activists, members of the Baha’i community have been subjected to a series of violations since the start of the Houthi coup, including house demolitions, intimidation of families, abductions, arbitrary detention, psychological and physical torture, forced exile, extrajudicial trials on trumped-up charges, confiscation and looting of property, storming and confiscating of property, public incitement and hate speech.
A number of members of the community continue to face difficulties in gaining their civil rights and traveling abroad, as well as renewed prosecutions and arrests, which observers fear could be a prelude to resuming Houthi campaigns against them.