Human Rights Watch on Friday condemned a five-year jail sentence it said had been handed down by a Qatari court against the leader of the emirate’s Baha’i minority on “abusive charges”.
The New York-based watchdog said Remy Rowhani, the 71-year-old chair of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is in Qatar, had been jailed by a Doha court on Wednesday “based solely on exercising his rights to freedom of speech and religion”.
Qatar convicted him of violating public order and religious and social values by promoting Baha’i values on social media, HRW said citing court documents.
“Imprisoning Remy Rowhani for five years, on a series of abusive charges rooted solely in his religious identity and activities within the Qatari Baha’i community is a serious breach of human rights law,” said HRW’s deputy Middle East director, Michael Page.
“Qatari authorities should respect fundamental freedoms and immediately release Rowhani,” he added.
The Baha’i leader was convicted of promoting ideas that cast doubt on the foundations and teachings of Islam, violating social values using information technology and disseminating material that “promotes the adoption of ‘destructive principles’,” HRW said, citing court documents.
He was also convicted of collecting donations without a licence for the benefit of Baha’i people and entities abroad. Donating is a religious obligation central to the faith.
Both HRW and the Baha’i International Community accuse Qatar of routinely demonising the faith based on Islamic rulings that likely incite hatred against them.
Rowhani was detained under Qatar’s cybercrime law in April over posts on social media accounts linked to the Baha’i community, HRW said at the time.
His lawyer has not been allowed to review court documents outlining the charges and evidence against him, defend his client in an initial June 18 hearing or access legal documents, the group said.
The Baha’i faith, whose global headquarters are in Israel, claims more than seven million followers worldwide.
It is based on the teachings of Bahaullah, who was born in Iran in 1817 and is considered the prophet and founder of their monotheistic faith.
Rowhani had been released from prison in January after serving a one-month sentence.
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© Agence France-Presse
