Gender: Female
Perpetrator: China
Religion or Belief: Falun Gong
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Appeal: Rejected
Sentence: 3 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: September//2018
Date of Sentencing: December//2019
Current Status: Unknown
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Distributing Religious Materials Religious Activity
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Li Yuanyou was imprisoned for her religious activity.
In September 2018, authorities arrested Li for distributing Falun Gong-related materials.
In December 2019, Li was reportedly sentenced to three years in prison.
On an unspecified date, the Guiyang City Intermediate Court reportedly rejected Li's appeal.
Li's sentence should have ended in September 2021.
Gender: Female
Current Location: Shijiazhuang Women’s Prison
Perpetrator: China
Religion or Belief: Falun Gong
Reports of Torture: Yes
Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes
Appeal: Rejected
Sentence: 7 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: June//2017
Date of Sentencing: December//2018
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity
Nature of Charges: Cult
Xu Xiujuan is imprisoned for her religious belief and activity.
In June 2017, authorities arrested Xu in relation to her Falun Gong activity. It is reported that she was tortured while in custody.
On an unspecified date, Xu was charged with "organizing or using a cult to undermine implementation of the law" (Art. 300 CCL).
In December 2018, Haigang District Court sentenced Xu to seven years in prison.
On an unspecified date, the Qinhuangdao City Intermediate Court rejected Xu's appeal.
In January 2020, Xu was reportedly transferred to Shijiazhuang Women's Prison.
Xu reportedly develop blood pressure and heart problems in state custody. She was also reportedly denied adequate medical care.
Xu is reportedly married.
Additional Name(s): حامد بن حيدرة
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Houthis
Religion or Belief: Bahá`í
Reports of Torture: Yes
Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes
Sentence: Death
Date of Detainment: December/3/2013
Date of Sentencing: January/2/2018
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: Yes
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Conversion Espionage
Hamid Kamal Mohammad bin Haydara was imprisoned for his religious belief and activity.
On December 3, 2013, authorities linked to the Houthi-run National Security Bureau arrested Haydara while at work.
On December 17, 2013, authorities raided Haydara's home, confiscating documents and laptops.
On September 2, 2014, Haydara's wife, Ilham Zara’i, was finally allowed to visit him after he was held incommunicado since his arrest.
On January 8, 2015, Haydara was formally charged with allegedly being a spy for Israel, attempting to make certain locations within Yemen a homeland for the followers of the Baha’i faith, offering literacy classes that followed a curriculum deemed incompatible with Islam, and attempting to convert Muslims to the Baha’i faith.
In March 2017, the Mwatana Organization for Human Rights reported that Haydara had been tortured and mistreated while in custody, denied access to adequate medical care, and denied proper legal counsel during interrogations.
On January 2, 2018, Haydara was sentenced to death. His assets were also ordered to be seized and all Baha’i institutions be closed.
On March 22, 2020, a Houthi appeals court upheld Haydara's death sentence.
On March 25, 2020, the Houthi Supreme Political Council announced that Haydara and other members of the Baha’i community would be released.
In July 2020, Haydara and five other Baha’is were released.
2020 Report on International Religious Freedom: Yemen U.S. Department of State
USCIRF Press Release: USCIRF Condemns Houthis for Summoning 19 Baha’is to Stand Trial on Spurious Charges February 2021
USCIRF Press Release: USCIRF Commissioner Andy Khawaja Adopts Yemeni Religious Prisoner of Conscience January 2019
USCIRF Press Release: USCIRF Calls on Yemen to Release Persecuted Baha’is October 2018
USCIRF Press Release: YEMEN: USCIRF Condemns Death Sentence for Baha’i January 2018
"Yemen: Huthis must quash death sentence of Baha’i prisoner of conscience" Amnesty International
"Yemen: Baha’i Adherent Faces Death Penalty" Human Rights Watch