A/HRC/45/CRP.7 306. There are no available official figures on the number of Christians in Yemen. With the high number of Ethiopian and Eritrean Christian migrants transiting through Yemen, the total number of Christian believers in the country is subject to flux. However, the Christian community in Yemen lives in fear of persecution by parties to the conflict and is obliged to hide its religious belief in all parts of the country. The fear of harassment has increased since the outbreak of the war due to the radicalisation of religious positions by certain parties to the conflict, in particular the Houthis. Reportedly, Christian churches have had to operate “underground” and religious services are carried out in private houses with a reduced number of believers. The Group of Experts documented cases of arbitrary detention by the Houthis of Christian believers, including Ethiopians, on the grounds of religious belief, but further details cannot be revealed due to concerns over the safety of the victims and their families. Sources described how such Christian detainees were forced to follow Muslim precepts and rituals. It was also reported that some Yemenis who had converted to Christianity attended Friday prayers at the mosque to prevent suspicion regarding their Christian faith. 307. The Group of Experts has previously reported on the situation and targeting of the Baha’i religious minority in Sana’a by the de facto authorities, in particular highlighting their arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and denial of due process.465 Last year, the Group concluded that members of the Baha’i faith had been detained on the basis of their belief and faith. During this reporting period, the Group called again for the immediate release of all persons detained in a manner contrary to international human rights and humanitarian law, including members of the Baha’i community.466 308. The Group has confirmed that the detention and proceedings against Baha’i members by the de facto authorities relates to their religious faith, despite the de facto authorities’ denial of the existence of the Bahai’s as a religious minority in Yemen.467 In the appeal proceedings of Hamed bin Haydara on 17 September 2019, for instance, the prosecutor of the Specialized Criminal Court in Sana’a requested the Court to order the “immediate deportation abroad and banning the entry into Yemen of any believer from the Baha’i faith”. On 22 March 2020, the Appellate Division of the Specialized Criminal Court upheld Hamed bin Haydara’s conviction and his death sentence. On 25 March 2020, the President of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, announced a pardon for Hamed bin Haydara and requested that the concerned authorities release him and all Baha’i detainees. On 20 May 2020, The Yemeni Initiative to Defend Baha’is (YIDB) issued a statement468 condemning the failure to implement this request for release and alleging the Specialized Criminal Court in Sana’a had demanded additional conditions for the release to take place, including the payment of “commercial guarantees”. Hamed bin Haydara was released only on 30 July 2020, together with five other Baha’i men who were detained at the Security and Intelligence detention facility in Sana’a, on condition that they leave Yemen immediately. Four weeks after the release, a local court reportedly continued with its proceedings in the case of 24 Baha'is. The Group also reviewed documents indicating that Baha’i members’ assets as well as Baha’i institutional assets were confiscated by the Houthis.469 309. Additionally, the Group received credible reports of lawyers being targeted and threatened because of their defence of the rights of Baha’i detainees, and documented the detention of one of the lawyers in 2020 by the Houthis.470 3. Migrants 310. Despite the ongoing armed conflict and the catastrophic humanitarian crisis, IOM reported that in 2019 over 138,000 African migrants crossed the Gulf of Aden and reached 465 See A/HRC/42/CRP.1, paras. 815-822. See press releases of the Group issued in the context of COVID19 on 30 March and 25 June 2020 at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/YemenGEE/Pages/Index.aspx 467 See A/HRC/42/CRP.1, para. 820. 468 See statement in Arabic at: https://www.facebook.com/DefendingBahaiRights/posts/4141435122540750 469 Confidential sources on file. 470 See sub-section on Journalists and Human Rights Defenders below, paras. 318 and ff. 466 78