 [RUDAW.NET] Hamed Kamal Muhammad bin Haydara disappeared into the labyrinth of Yemen’s National Security Bureau three years ago. His crime: being a Baha’i. His wife says the last time she called him and spoke to him was in December 2013.
Since his disappearance, Haydara has been accused of "apostasy", "insulting Islam", and calling on Moslems to "embrace the Baha’i religion".
New York-based Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
says that the prosecution in Haydara’s trial has asked for the death penalty for him. It says that. "Most of the charges against Haydara relate to his practice of the Baha’i faith."
Yemeni authorities allege that Haydara is an Iranian citizen who entered the country in 1991 under a false name while working for Israel.
"We reject this accusation" his wife, Elham Muhammad Hossain Zara’i, told Rudaw.
"We have lived in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
for decades. The father of my husband was the first doctor on Socotra island. His name is Dr. Kamal. But they always link us to that issue (of Israel) because the Baha’i administration body is in Israel, and our holy site is based in Israel. That is why they link us to the state of Israel."
Haifa, in present-day Israel, has been the Baha’i faith’s administrative headquarters since Ottoman Rule in 17 century.
| The writer is confused about how one numbers centuries from the year of the date. Since the Bab was born in 1819 and was executed in 1850, that would be the 19th century. His remains were reburied on Mt. Carmel 50 years later, in the 20th century. His successor, the Baha'ullah, was banished to Akko in 1868, dying there in 1892. Like the Muslims go to Mecca, Baha'i are supposd to make pilgrimage to Haifa at least once. |
In Moslem Yemen, the law does not recognize any other minority religion except Judaism. Embracing any other religion is a punishable crime.
"The Baha’i faith is not recognized in the constitution, the tradition or by Islam. Therefore, it is a forbidden religion. If a Yemeni renounces his religion and declares himself a Baha’I, this is a crime to be tried at court." an official from the ministry of justice said.
"But if the person is from a foreign country and visits us, they can practice their religion at home in private, and this is not a crime and will not be punished," he explained.
Yemen has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since 1987, safeguarding the freedom of religion.
"Yemeni authorities have committed an injustice by prosecuting Haydara for his religious beliefs and compounding that injustice by seeking to execute him," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of HRW. "The charges should be dropped and Haydara should be released."
HRW, which has published a detailed report on Haydara's case, says the judiciary system has been slowed down by the war in Yemen.
"The authorities have to deal with the issue, even if that means in contradiction to the law. We shall not allow the war to affect our humanity." a rights activist from the local Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, which has monitored Haydar's case closely, told Rudaw
According to Baha'i estimates, there are about 2,000 Baha'is in Yemen. Their appearance in a protest in April for the first time amounted to declaring their religion as part of Yemeni society.
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