Hamed bin Haydara

Hamed bin Haydara.

Hamed Kamal Mohammad bin Haydara is a Bahá'í from Yemen who was imprisoned for his religious beliefs on December 3, 2013. Following his arrest, his home was raided and documents and laptops were confiscated by inspectors from Yemen's National Security Office, one of whom said that Haydara was a “destroyer of Islam and religion.” Haydara was tortured and imprisoned for almost two years without formal charges; finally, in January 2015, spurious charges of espionage were presented. He appeared in court many times, despite being in poor health and requiring special care.

In January 2018, the court sentenced Haydara to death in absentia, on the pretext that he had been in communication with the Universal House of Justice, the highest governing body of the Baha’i Faith, which has its seat in Israel. The decision, which was immediately appealed, also called for the disbanding of all Baha’i assemblies, mirroring acts of persecution committed in Iran against the Bahá’ís in the 1980s. During the following year, persecution widened against Yemen's Bahá'í community, with an additional 24 Yemeni Bahá'ís facing trials as of February 2020. In a rushed hearing in March 2020, against the backdrop of a continuing humanitarian crisis in Yemen and a global health crisis brought on by the spread of pandemic COVID-19, Haydara's death sentence was upheld. Only a few days later, President of the Supreme Political Council in Sana’a, Mahdi al-Mashat, overturned the appeals court's decision, ordering the release of all Baha’i prisoners as well as a pardon for Haydara.

Haydara was released along with six other Baha'is on July 30, 2020 and were flown to Ethiopia.

Imprisonment and trial

Haydara, with his wife Ilham and two daughters.

In September 2014, Ilham Zara’i was the first to visit Haydara in prison and learned that he had been forced to sign several documents while blindfolded and been subjected to repeated torture, including being beaten and electrocuted. By October 2014, Haydara was transferred to the Central Prison under the jurisdiction of the Prosecution Service. The process of prosecution, however, was repeatedly delayed due to the influence of his prosecutor, Rajeh Zayyed, who, on various occasions, demonstrated extreme prejudice against Bahá’ís and blocked medical treatment requests for Haydara.

Court appearances

Formal charges against Haydara were not agreed upon until January 2015, and they included spurious claims of being a spy for Israel and that he had obtained his passport using a false name. Several court dates were scheduled for 2015, but Haydara did not appear again in court until November 2015 when he was permitted by the judge to attend a hospital to be diagnosed. On November 24, a medical doctor evaluated Haydara and said that he required surgery to remove his gallbladder and also needed heart surgery. On December 6, the planned court hearing was cancelled since the judge was on medical leave.

Haydara appeared in court at least six times in 2016. During the court hearing on April 3, 2016, a peaceful gathering with over 100 supporters of Haydara appeared outside of the court. It was not until the April 24 court hearing that the judge permitted Haydara to receive medical treatment, albeit inside the prison. By mid-September of 2016, it became well-established that a faction within the political movement of the Houthis was under the influence of Iran and motivated the actions of Zayyed against Haydara as well as those arrested on August 10.

After two postponements, a court hearing was finally held with Haydara on November 6. This time, however, the previous public prosecutor, Zayyed, was replaced with Husayn al-Runi, and the previous judge, Ali al-Amisi, was replaced with Abdu Ismail Hassan Rajeh. The new judge appeared to be more reasonable since he allowed Haydara and his lawyer to speak. By the end of the hearing the judge ordered that Haydara be transferred to a private hospital or the prison infirmary for special care. Towards the end of December, Haydara presented himself for another court hearing but it was cancelled because the judge was unwell.

On January 10, 2017, a hearing took place and Zayyed was present as the prosecutor. Haydara was able to answer questions and his lawyer presented documents establishing his Yemeni nationality. By the end of the session, the judge indicated that unless Zayyed could provide more substantial evidence regarding Haydara’s purported ties to Israel, then a ruling would be imminent. Unfortunately, court hearings scheduled for February 12 and March 4 were cancelled. Haydara appeared for his last-scheduled hearing on 6 March. However, the judge was absent.

Sentence

On January 2, 2018, the Specialized Criminal Court in Sana’a, Yemen, sentenced Haydara to death in absentia due to his religious beliefs. The final court hearing, which Haydara was purposely prevented from attending, saw Rajeh call for the confiscation of all of Haydara's assets, on the pretext that he had been in communication with the Universal House of Justice, the highest governing body of the Baha’is, which has its seat in Israel. The verdict required that the execution, the date of which is unknown, be carried out in public. The verdict also asked for the disbanding of Baha’i assemblies, which mirrors acts of persecution committed in Iran against the Bahá’ís in the 1980s.

Appeal and widening persecution

An appeal to Haydara's sentence was immediately issued by the defense lawyer. Along with five other Bahá'ís, Haydara remained imprisoned through the following year as Houthi authorities widened their persecution of the Bahá'í community of Yemen. On September 15, 2018, Rajeh presided over a court hearing in which more than 20 Yemeni Bahá'ís were indicted and falsely accused of espionage and apostasy, including all of the community's leaders at the national level. Neither the Bahá'ís being charged nor their lawyers were informed of the hearing.

The charges attracted widespread international condemnation by various governments and international human rights organisations. A UN resolution passed on September 28 called on parties to "cease the issuance of arrest warrants against them [Baha'is] and to cease the harassment to which they are subjected", and expressed concerns regarding "allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and of violations and abuses of human rights law", including "severe restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, including for minorities, such as members of the Baha’i faith…" Despite this, the accusations were repeated at a second court hearing held the following day, at which Rajeh ordered all properties and assets belonging to the indicted Bahá'ís to be frozen, and ordered their names to be published in a newspaper. On October 11, Abdullah Al-Olofi, a spokesperson for the Bahá'í community, was arrested and taken to an undisclosed location.

In December 2018, members of both parties in the Yemeni conflict agreed to a prisoner swap that would free thousands of prisoners at the start of peace talks in Sweden. Despite pleas to include Bahá’í prisoners in this agreement, Houthi authorities refused, instead pushing for an abrupt court hearing for Haydara and accelerating efforts to issue a verdict in the case of the other Bahá’ís who remained indicted or imprisoned. Haydara eventually appeared at an appeal hearing in early 2019 to contest his verdict.

After earlier appeal hearings were postponed, a hearing took place on September 17, 2019, in which the prosecutor not only confirmed its support for the lower court decision, but also called to "immediately deport… all who are considered Baha’is" and to "ban their entry" into Yemen, significantly escalating the scope of the judicial prosecution far beyond the mandate of the appeal. The prosecution also requested that the court take measures to discourage Baha'i beliefs and their expression in the country. In a hearing on October 1, the judge called for the listing of Haydara's assets, as well as the National Spiritual Assembly's, in advance of their seizure.

Pardon

In March 2020, against the backdrop of a continuing humanitarian crisis in Yemen and a global health crisis brought on by the spread of pandemic COVID-19, Haydara's 19th appeal hearing was unexpectedly rescheduled. Originally scheduled for March 31, it was advanced to March 22. The court upheld Haydara's death sentence. In its response to the decision, the Bahá'í International Community stated: "At a time when the international community is battling a global health crisis, it is incomprehensible that the authorities in Sana’a have upheld a death sentence against an innocent individual solely because of his beliefs instead of focusing on safeguarding the population, including Baha’is."

Just as unexpectedly, in a general television address on March 25, President of the Supreme Political Council in Sana’a, Mahdi al-Mashat, ordered the release of all Baha’i prisoners as well as a pardon for Haydara, overturning the appeals court's decision. The Bahá'í International Community welcomed the announcement and called for its immediate implementation. Haydara was released on July 30 along with five other Baha'i prisoners, who were arrested in 2017. They were flown out of Yemen to Ethiopia. According to Houthi judicial officials, leaving Yemen was a condition for their release.

See also

• Persecution

References

• Details on the imprisonment and trial of Mr. Hamed Bin Haydara