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Sep
15
Amnesty International issues urgent appeal for detained Bahá’ís in Yemen
Filed Under Human Rights, Iran, People | Leave a Comment
Amnesty International has issued an appeal under its urgent action procedure for the release of four Bahá’ís currently being held in Yemen, with the risk of deportation to their home countries.
Amnesty reports that three Iranian Bahá’ís – Zia’ullah Pourahmari, Keyvan Qadari and Behrooz Rohani – and an Iraqi national – Sayfi Ibrahim Sayfi, are being held at the Criminal Investigation prison in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a. They are being forcibly threatened to be returned to Iran and Iraq, where they would be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
“All of them are members of the Baha’i faith,” says the Amnesty appeal, “and may have been detained solely because of this; if this is the case, they are prisoners of conscience.”
The three Iranian nationals were arrested on 20 June at Mr Pourahmari’s house in Sana’a. Mr Sayfi, an Iraqi who has sought asylum in Yemen, was arrested in the early hours of 21 June at his home, also in Sana’a.
Amnesty has also revealed that on 2 September, it wrote to Yemen’s Minister of Interior urging him to intervene immediately to prevent the men from being forcibly returned to Iraq and Iran, and to release them immediately and unconditionally if they were held solely on the grounds of the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of religion. The minister has not responded, says the organisation.
In Iran, dozens of Baha’is have been “arbitrarily detained every year, and some of the detainees have been tortured,” says the Amnesty appeal. “They, along with adherents of other unrecognized religions in Iran, are denied the freedom to practise their beliefs and face discrimination, particularly in access to education and employment, as well as other violations of their internationally recognized human rights.”
Furthermore, Amnesty “has repeatedly called on states to immediately cease all forcible returns to any part of Iraq. Any return should only take place when the situation in the whole of Iraq has stabilized in a stable and durable peace,” says the appeal.
Amnesty International is now calling upon its members to send urgent appeals in Arabic, English or their own languages to the President of Yemen, as well as the country’s Minister of Interior, Minister of Human Rights, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, asking the authorities:
- to abide by their international obligations and ensure that the four men (naming them) are not forcibly sent to Iran or Iraq, either directly or through another country, where they might be at risk of serious human rights violations, including torture;
- to allow the men the opportunity to challenge any decision on their expulsion;
- to release the men immediately and unconditionally if they are detained solely on account of their religious beliefs;
Amnesty says assurances should also be sought that the detained Bahá’ís are being treated humanely and given regular access to their families, lawyers of their own choosing, and any medical attention they may require.
Amnesty International, founded in the United Kingdom in 1961, works to mobilize public opinion to exert pressure on governments and individuals who perpetrate human rights abuses.
Technorati Tags: Yemen, Bahai, Baha’i, human rights, Iran, Iraq