Baha'is Imprisoned in Yemen May Face Imminent Deportation to Iran

August 27, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Baha’i World News Service

http://www.bahaiworldnews.org/story/651

Three Baha’is currently imprisoned in Yemen are facing the possibility of imminent deportation to Iran, where Baha’is are intensely persecuted and they would likely face imprisonment or torture.

“We are gravely concerned about the fate of these three Baha'is, who are being held without charges in a case that is clearly based on religious persecution,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

“Although the three have lived in Yemen for more than 25 years, they hold Iranian passports and we have come to believe that the Yemeni government may be planning to deport them to Iran, where the government is waging a systematic campaign against Baha'is.

“While calling for their immediate release, our primary concern today is to ask that the Yemeni government resist any impulse to deport these three Baha'is to Iran – or any other country. Deportation to any country for three individuals with well established businesses and families for their religious beliefs would be grossly unjust, but deportation to Iran, where they face the possibility of torture, would be a clear violation of international human rights law,” said Ms. Dugal.