Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has received reports of a court hearing in Sana’a, Yemen on 22 August 2020 in which six Baha'i's who were pardoned and released from custody were declared fugitives; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We welcome the long overdue release of six Baha'is from Houthi detention, but it is deeply concerning that they were detained for their beliefs in the first place and that they cannot live freely and peacefully in their country. We are monitoring the situation closely and we strongly condemn the continued persecution of the Baha'i in Yemen for their religious beliefs. We are working closely with our partners to raise these concerns directly with the Houthi authorities and urge the release of all Yemenis detained for their beliefs or nationality. We continue to follow the treatment of the Baha'is in Yemen closely, including through meeting their representatives in the UK and lobbying the relevant authorities. We continue to call on the parties to the conflict to respect the human rights of all Yemenis.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what reports he has received on the situation of the Baha'i' community in north Yemen; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We welcome the long overdue release of six Baha'is from Houthi detention, but it is deeply concerning that they were detained for their beliefs in the first place and that they cannot live freely and peacefully in their country. We are monitoring the situation closely and we strongly condemn the continued persecution of the Baha'i in Yemen for their religious beliefs. We are working closely with our partners to raise these concerns directly with the Houthi authorities and urge the release of all Yemenis detained for their beliefs or nationality. We continue to follow the treatment of the Baha'is in Yemen closely, including through meeting their representatives in the UK and lobbying the relevant authorities. We continue to call on the parties to the conflict to respect the human rights of all Yemenis.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Coventry (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they have made to President Mahdi al Mashat that the pardon for Hamed bin Haydara and five other Yemeni Baha'i, and their release from jail, be expedited.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are monitoring the case of Hamed bin Haydara closely. On 25 March the Houthis announced that they would release Mr Haydara and his fellow wrongfully detained Baha'i, but we have seen no further action since then. The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa made public our concerns on 22 April, urging the Houthis to release all political prisoners without delay. We strongly condemn the death sentence and the continued persecution of the Baha'i in Yemen for their religious beliefs. We meet often with the Baha'i representatives in London who keep us updated on the situation.
Asked by: Lord Dholakia (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the repression of members of the Bahá'í community in north Yemen; and what representations they have made to representatives of the Houthis about freedom of religion or belief in those areas under their de facto governance.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns the mistreatment of Baha’is who are being persecuted for their religious beliefs in areas under the control of the Houthis. We are working closely with our partners to raise these concerns directly with the Houthi authorities and urge the release of detained individuals. We continue to call on the parties to the conflict for the human rights of all Yemenis to be respected.
I raised the religious persecution of the Baha’i community in my statement of 22 October on human rights. We continue to follow the treatment of the Baha’is in Yemen closely, including through meeting their representatives in the UK and lobbying the relevant authorities.
Asked by: Stephen Twigg (Labour (Co-op) - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of discrimination against members of the Baha’i faith by Houthi authorities in Yemen; and what representations he has made to the (a) Houthi authorities and the government of Iran on the persecution of the Baha’i.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK strongly condemns the mistreatment of Baha’is who are being persecuted for their religious beliefs in areas under the control of the Houthis. We are working closely with our partners to raise these concerns directly with the Houthi authorities and urge the release of detained individuals. We continue to follow the treatment of the Baha’is in Yemen closely, including through meeting their representatives in the UK and lobbying the relevant authorities. We continue to call on the parties to the conflict for the human rights of all Yemenis to be respected.
At the UN General Assembly in September, we brought the international community together at a UK-hosted event to shine a spotlight on Iran's human rights abuses. We will also be using Iran’s forthcoming Universal Periodic Review in November, to raise concerns about the ongoing discrimination and targeting of religious minority groups, including the Baha’i community.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department has taken to secure the release of prisoners held by Houthi authorities in Sana’a in Yemen that are members of the Baha’i community reportedly imprisoned on grounds of their faith.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We continue to follow the treatment of the Baha’is in Yemen closely, including through meeting representatives of the Baha'i in the UK and lobbying the relevant authorities. We continue to call on the parties to the conflict for the human rights of all Yemenis to be respected and the UK Ambassador last raised this directly with the Houthi Spokesperson on 5 February.
Asked by: Louise Ellman (Independent - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations has he made to his Yemeni counterpart on incitement against members of the Baha'i community in that country; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We continue to follow the treatment of the Baha'is in Yemen closely, including through meeting their representatives in the UK and lobbying the relevant authorities. Yemen is a human rights priority country for the UK, and the persecution of individuals on the basis of their religious beliefs is a serious violation of international human rights law. We are concerned by reports of arbitrary detention of members of the Baha'i community, and abuse of detainees, in areas of Yemen under Houthi control. We wholly condemn this mistreatment. We are working closely with our partners to raise these concerns directly with the Houthi authorities and press for the release of detained individuals.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that members of the Baha’i faith in prison or facing death sentences by Houthi courts in Yemen are protected.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports freedom of religious belief for all Yemenis. On 28 September the UK voted for a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council that emphasised the international community’s concern at the plight of the Baha’i and called for the immediate release of all Baha’i detained due to their religious belief. The persecution of members of the Baha’i community in areas of Yemen under Houthi control due to their religious beliefs is a serious violation of international human rights law. New cases of arbitrary detention and continuing reports of the abuse of detainees by the Houthis are deeply concerning, and we wholly condemn this mistreatment. We have raised our concerns with the Houthi authorities.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on reports of the Government of Iran encouraging the Houthi to persecute the Baha’i community in Sana’a, Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are aware of allegations of the involvement of Iran in the persecution of Baha'i individuals in Houthi-controlled Yemen, however it is impossible to verify these under the current conflict conditions. We continue to raise our concerns about the treatment of the Baha'i with those who have access to the Houthis, and the Iranians.
Asked by: Keith Vaz (Labour - Leicester East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Iranian Government on the repression of the Baha'i minority in Yemen.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We are concerned at reports of mistreatment of the Baha'i community by the Houthis in Yemen. We call upon Iran to use its influence with the Houthis to urge that they cease harassment and mistreatment of all religious minorities including the Baha'i. I discussed our human rights concerns with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in London on 21 February.