Houthis torture and sentence religious activist to death

Handing out flowers and preaching the importance of religious tolerance on the rebel-held streets of Sanaa is not a practice that bodes well under a rebel group whose slogans include “Death to America — A Curse on All Jews”.

It was not long after seizing Sanaa in 2014 that the Iran-backed Houthis, who follow a branch of Shia Islam, began cracking down on the Baha’is for their religious beliefs.

The faith, which originated in Iran in the 19th century and spread across the world, believes in core principles such as universal peace and acceptance of all religions as manifestations of one God.

Last Tuesday, the Houthis' criminal court in Sanaa sentenced a prominent leader of the faith, Hamid Haydara, to death after four years in prison.

According to the spokesperson of the Baha'i in Sanaa, Abdullah Al Olify, the group leaders who have been arrested are being tortured into admitting they work for foreign entities.

52-year-old Mr Haydara was accused of collaborating with foreign entities and forging documents, but the trial discounted evidence that the prisoner was tortured while in Houthi custody since December 2013.

"They unfairly sentenced Hamid Haidarah to death and decided to close all the organisations affiliated with Baha'is in Sana'a and prohibited the practice of Bahaism in Sana'a," Ghamdan Al Duqaimi a journalist and human rights activist in Sana'a told The National.

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Mr Haydara is not the first, however. So far this year, at least five Baha’is are being held by the Houthis in Yemen, others have been missing for years.

“The Houthi authorities must end their persecution of the Baha’i community and respect their right to freedom of religion — a right that is enshrined in the country’s own constitution and international law,” Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Research and Advocacy Director said.

The arrest of prominent Baha’i religious leaders — such as Waleed Ayash whose whereabouts are still unknown — has forced followers of the faith to take their peaceful practices underground.

"They arrested many people of our group and put them in the prisons for years. Moreover, they discriminate against us in our workplaces, they looted our houses and kept stirring the people up against us. This is really brutal. They treat us as aliens" Mr Al Olify told The National.

The parents of Mr Ayash have been searching for their son since his disappearance years ago. Any attempt to broach the topic with Houthi authorities in Sanaa has been met with death threats aimed at both the family and Mr Ayash.

In Yemen, Baha'is have been practising their religion in secret since the Houthi takeover of the capital. Their oppression, however, has led them to re-emerge in 2016 and demand answers from the rebels.

“His family doesn't know anything about him, whenever they go to the Houthi officials to ask about their son, Houthis threaten them, and tell them that all Waleed's family members are going to be killed if they raise their voice demanding their son," said Mr Al Olify.

Despite the threats, peaceful campaigns are being held in Yemen to demand the safe return of Mr Ayash and other members of the faith. But Baha’is are still being arrested and interrogated by Houthis.

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.