The lesser of two evils: Yemen’s Bahais from prison into exile
Shortly after their release, six members of the Bahai community in Yemen were sent into exile, in a stark example of the political climate in this war-ravaged country.
Four years of incarceration of Baha'i faith adherents in Yemen’s Sanaa has ended up with exiling them. The Houthi authorities set six Baha'i members free on July 30, and they were immediately flown outside Yemen.
The six Baha'i individuals are named Hamed bin Haydara, Badiullah Sanai, Wael al-Arieghie, Waleed Ayyash, Akram Ayyash and Kayvan Ghaderi.
Haydara is the leader whom the Houthis sentenced to death last year for alleged links to Israel and apostasy. But Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, declared in March a pardon and ordered the release of the six detainees. The Houthis have been boasting about this pardon ever since.
Baha'ism dates back to the 19th century and it first emerged in Iran. The believers in this faith say their chief objective “is to contribute to the construction of a more peaceful and just global order.” The Baha'is are estimated at 5 million worldwide and they are dispersed in several countries, including Yemen. The Baha'i minority constitutes 1% of Yemen’s non-Muslim population.
