An Iranian Accused of Promoting Bahá'í Faith in Yemen

Yemen's news agency reported on Tuesday that an Iranian resident in the country has been accused of promoting the Bahá'í faith among the Muslim citizens of Yemen and in favor of Israel. According to Agence France-Presse and citing the 'Saba' news agency, this man was arrested last year in Mukalla, located in southeastern Yemen. The indictment issued against this Iranian states that he attempted to 'entice some people in Yemen to abandon Islam and convert to his faith' from 1991 to 2014. The 51-year-old man's name is Hamid Mirza Kamali Sarvestani, and according to Saba news agency, he was engaged in business under a pseudonym of a private company in Yemen. The Yemeni prosecutor's office stated: 'He was collaborating with Israel, a foreign country, through the Bahá'í Universal House of Justice, which serves the interests and promotes the Bahá'í faith in Yemen.' The Bahá'í Universal House of Justice is the highest decision-making body of the Bahá'í faith, located in Haifa, northern Israel. The Yemeni prosecutor's office claimed that Hamid Mirza Kamali Sarvestani used money to lure poor Yemenis to change their religion and promoted Bahá'í materials on the internet and in gatherings. Saba news agency reported that his case has been referred to a special court in Sana'a. According to Bahá'í statistics, about 250 Bahá'ís live in Yemen and are free to perform their religious rituals.