| 2013 3 Dec |
Mr. Hamed Kamal Muhammad bin Haydara (sometimes referred to in the media as "Hamed Merza Kamali Serostani ") was snatched by security forces from his workplace, at Balhaf gas terminal in the southern province of Shabwa in south Yemen. It was suggested that he was arrested on the orders of Mr. Khaled al-Mawari, the Chief Prosecutor who was involved in the unwarranted arrest and detention of another member of the Yemeni Bahá'í community. He was detained at the National Security Prison in Sana'a. Mr. Kamali has allegedly been subjected to forty-five days of "electric torture", severe beatings and starvation in detention. [Arab News 20 November 2020; OHCHR Report]
The family of Hamed bin Haydara had lived in Socotra since 1945, when his father arrived on the Yemeni island from Iran as a doctor under British colonial rule and was granted Yemeni citizenship.
The National Security Office raided his home and seized laptops and documents. He was transferred after nine months to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) prison in Sana'a and officially charged with endangering national security. It was during this time that he managed to make his first phone call to his family and inform them that he was still alive. Reports indicated that he had been tortured (beaten and electrocuted).
Soon after, Houthi forces gained control of Sana'a, including the prison. Initially, the Houthis acknowledged that the allegations against him were unproven. However, Houthi officials subsequently leveled similar accusations against Haydara, except this time, he was accused of spying for Israel instead of Iran. Haydara was brought before the court multiple times, but each time the judge dismissed the case due to a lack of evidence. He remained incarcerated for four years until, finally, in January 2018, the judge issued a death sentence against him and confiscated his assets.
According to Bahá'í estimates, there were about 2,000 Bahá'ís in Yemen [BIC website, Reuters]
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Persecution, Yemen; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution; Sanaa, Yemen; Yemen |
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Canada