On the 25th of March, the head of the Houthi High Political Council announced the release of the detainee Hamid bin Haydara along with other Baha’is. People felt optimistic after this amnesty, which came in the context of the global efforts to combat the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, this decision has yet to be fulfilled.
Each passing day robs bin Haydara and those with him their aspirations of meeting their families and loved ones. This is accompanied by the concern of the speared of the pandemic and the horror that the virus could reach their cells and weakened bodied which are in no condition to resist this virus due to the difficult and unhealthy conditions they are in.
We are raising this warning with the assertion that this matter is very dangerous, especially after sources belonging to INSAF Center informed us of two confirmed cases of Covid-19 – in addition to sixty other suspected cases – from inside the central prison in Sana’a, where bin Haydara and his companions are being held. This makes the matter more serious, not only in the fact that the prison has become infected with viruses, but that the environment and the psychological state of prisoners there exacerbate the situation in an unbelievable way.
In this regard, we call upon the Houthi authorities to release the exempted Baha’is, and appeal to them to release the rest of the other detainees and those held for political reasons or differences of opinion, and to give way for humanitarian and political interests over their own interests.
The continued detention of bin Haydara and his Baha’i companions can only be described as a continuation of political blackmail and holding them as hostages in order to gain something before their release, which is an unacceptable, inhumane, and unethical behavior. In this regard, we reiterate the appeal to all international actors who are able to continue to apply pressure on the Houthi authorities in order to assess the situation in which Yemen and the world live in, as well as the humanitarian situation of the detainees, and their families and loved ones who are eager for their release. At the same time, we hold the Houthi authorities responsible for any harm that might befall these detainees – God forbid – as a result of this deliberate and unjustified procrastination.
