Baha'i dignitary arrested in Doha, BIC demands his early release

The Baha’i International Community (BIC) has slammed the recent arrest and detention of Remy Rowhani, a senior Baha'i dignitary and Qatari citizen, in Doha on 28 April. Rowhani was summoned to the State Security Criminal Investigation Department for questioning. He was subsequently detained without explanation or access to his lawyer and his detention has been extended several times—the latest of which was for a month, said BIC statement , issued from Geneva. 
As per statement, Rowhani later informed his lawyer that he was informed of  three allegations to him by phone, two of which were “promoting the ideology of a deviant sect” and “inciting public opinion.”  The complaint was brought by the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. The Baha’i International Community is also alarmed that these allegations directly mirror those brought by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Baha’is in that country. The Iranian government is, without doubt, exporting its persecution of Baha’is beyond its borders.” “The charges brought against Remy Rowhani not only target him personally, but also falsely imply wrongdoing by the Baha’i community of Qatar,” said Dr. Saba Haddad, BIC Representative to the United Nations in Geneva. “Targeting  Rowhani is a way to intimidate the whole Baha’i community—for no reason other than their beliefs, she said.
The BIC has urged  the Qatari authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Remy Rowhani and clear his record. It further asked the government to cease all forms of discrimination against the Baha’is in Qatar, and guarantee that Baha’is are no longer arbitrarily blacklisted, unfairly expelled, or subjected to systemic exclusion.