SANAA (Debriefer)--The Ansar Allah Group, known as the Houthis, said on Thursday it reversed death sentences against the leader of the Baha'i minority in Yemen Hamed bin Haydara and several other Baha'i prisoners and released them.
We hope this move will be met with more respect to effective laws and the public system in the country, the Sanaa-based Saba news agency quoted an official in the Houthi supreme political council as saying.
The Yemeni initiative for defending the Baha'is rights said six Baha'i prisoners including Haydara were released today, urging the group to drop fake charges on them and other Baha'i prisoners and to give back their properties.
The group pardoned the Baha'i prisoners and promised to release them on March 25th. At the time, the UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths hailed the pardon as a positive step towards protecting the rights of this minority.
But later in May, unconfirmed reports revealed that the Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi ordered to reverse the pardon decision.
The Sanaa-based specialised criminal court sentenced Haydara to death and ordered the confiscation of all his properties after convicting him of harming the independence of the republic of Yemen.