USCIRF Releases New Report on Houthi Religious Repression in Yemen

USCIRF Releases New Report on Houthi Religious Repression in Yemen

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today released the following new country update highlighting the Houthi movement’s repression of religious freedom in Yemen:

Yemen Country Update – This report assesses religious freedom conditions in Yemen. In addition to noting the alarming trends of increased Houthi persecution against Baha’is, Christians, and Jews, the report also discusses the case of religious prisoner of conscience Libi Marhabi, a Jewish man who remains in prison in Yemen despite a court order for his release. The report recommends that ongoing U.S.-mediated peace negotiations should include religious freedom issues as a foundation for a post-conflict Yemen where freedom of religion or belief is guaranteed for all people.

In its 2021 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended the State Department re-designate the Houthis as an “Entity of Particular Concern,” or EPC, for systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations. In December 2020, the State Department re-designated the Houthis as an EPC.

###

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].