Reforms Needed to End Discrimination Against Religious Minority
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(Beirut) – Qatari authorities have acquitted and released Remy Rowhani, chair of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is in Qatar, after months of arbitrary detention based solely on his religious identity, Human Rights Watch said today. Qatar should immediately end discrimination against Baha’is and provide effective remedy for those affected.
Qatar’s court of appeal reversed Rowhani’s baseless conviction on September 30, 2025, court documents reviewed by Human Rights Watch show. Rowhani was sentenced to five years in prison by a lower court in August on charges based on the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of speech and religion. Rowhani was released on October 4, an informed source told Human Rights Watch. However, the prosecutor can appeal the decision within 60 days.
“It is very good news that a Qatari court acquitted Remy Rowhani of all the baseless charges against him,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Qatari authorities should build on this positive development by ensuring that Baha’is no longer face religious discrimination by Qatari government institutions.”
The Baha’i faith, founded in 19th-century Iran by Baha’u’llah, believes in the unity of all religions and people. The Qatari government has a longstanding record of discriminating against Baha’is in Qatar, with hundreds harmed by deportations, blacklisting, and administrative restrictions for no apparent reason other than individuals’ belonging to the Baha’i faith.
Baha’is are also frequently discriminated against elsewhere in the region, including in Egypt and Yemen, and face persecution, a crime against humanity, by authorities in Iran.
Qatari authorities arrested and detained Rowhani in April on charges claiming that he violated public order and social and religious Muslim values in Instagram and X accounts linked to him, the court documents say. Human Rights Watch reviewed the accounts and found that the posts are limited to celebrating Baha’i values and Qatari and Muslim holidays.
The court denied Rowhani’s lawyer’s request to review the documents that outline the charges and evidence, and it did not allow him to defend his client during the first hearing, the informed source said.
Qatar’s deputy attorney general appealed the sentence on September 7 seeking a harsher sentence, according to the appeal document, despite calls by rights groups, United Nations experts, and international media to end Qatar’s discriminatory treatment of Baha’is and release Rowhani.
Human Rights Watch has documented Qatari discrimination against Baha’is, as have UN special rapporteurs on minority issues and freedom of religion or belief. Qatari authorities’ discriminatory treatment against Baha’is has resulted in the separation of families and the loss of employment and income, UN experts concluded.
The authorities have also delayed the community’s attempts to reestablish an existing Baha’i cemetery and refused to accept marriage certificates issued by elected Baha’i institutions in Qatar, according to UN experts.
“Rowhani’s release is a positive step, but Qatar needs to do more than release Rowhani to signal a genuine policy shift in its treatment of members of the Baha’i faith,” Page said.
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Qatar: Baha’i Dignitary Acquitted – Human Rights Watch
