Qatari authorities should set aside the baseless conviction of Remy Rowhani, the chair of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is in Qatar, and reject the prosecution's attempt to increase his sentence, Human Rights Watch said today. Qatari authorities should immediately and unconditionally release him.
A Doha court sentenced Rowhani, 71, to five years in prison in August 2025, following his flawed conviction on offenses linked the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of speech and religion. Qatar's deputy attorney general appealed the sentence on September 7 seeking a longer prison term, the appeal document reviewed by Human Rights Watch revealed. An appeal hearing was held on September 10, with the decision expected on September 17.
"Qatar's domestic prosecutors are prioritizing a relentless assault against the Baha'i minority, while its officials seek external support from states and the UN after Israel's recent attack on Doha," said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "Qatari authorities should immediately overturn Rowhani's conviction and release him."
The Baha'i faith, founded in 19th-century Iran by Baha'u'llah, teaches that all major faiths come from the same God and emphasizes the unity of humanity. Baha'is have faced discrimination elsewhere in the region, including being victims of the crime against humanity of persecution in Iran and other forms of repression in Egypt and Yemen.
The charges were based on an X account and an Instagram account representing the Qatari Baha'i community, which were linked to Rowhani's phone number and email address. Human Rights Watch found that the posts were limited to celebrating Qatari and Muslim holidays and Baha'i values.
Court documents show the prosecution lists two grounds for the appeal. The first alleges the court erred in law by linking the offenses with which he was charged, thus treating them as one crime. The prosecutor is asking for Rowhani to be given the maximum sentence for each of three offenses.
The prosecution also claims that the offenses constituted an "infringement upon the authority of the State." The prosecutor requested a "deterrent penalty," stating that the aim is not only to deter the individual from reoffending, but also the rest of society.
Qatari authorities charged Rowhani with promoting a doctrine or ideology that "casts doubt on the foundations and teachings of Islam," violating social principles and values using information technology, and disseminating material that calls and promotes the adoption of "destructive principles," the court documents say.
Qatari authorities convicted Rowhani despite United Nations experts' warnings of what they described in July as "a broader and disturbing pattern of disparate treatment of the Baha'i minority in Qatar."
Human Rights Watch documented Qatar's arrest and detention of Rowhani on charges from 2021 for collecting donations from the Qatari Baha'i community as part of his role on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is in Qatar. Financial donations are considered a religious obligation central to the Baha'i faith.
Qatari authorities have discriminated against members of the Baha'i faith based solely on their religious identity through deportations and blacklisting. This has resulted in the separation of families and loss of employment and income, delaying the community's attempts to re-establish an existing Baha'i cemetery, and rejecting marriage certificates issued by elected Baha'i institutions in Qatar.
Qatar deported as many as 14 members of the group over more than 20 years for no apparent reason other than belonging to the Baha'i faith in cases documented by Human Rights Watch and UN experts.
While Qatari and international law guarantee freedom of religion, a high-ranking Qatari religious figure told one of the now-deported Baha'is that if he announced his conversion to Sunni Islam, he could "make the deportation go away."
"This outrageous attempt to increase Rowhani's prison term, when his conviction should be quashed, is a clear indicator that Qatar is ramping up its repression of Baha'is, despite trying to present itself as open, tolerant, and inclusive," Page said.
