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On 14th October 2025, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that the Qatari authorities had 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.
Qatar’s court of appeal reversed Rowhani’s baseless conviction on 30th September 2025. Rowhani had previously been 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 4th October 2025, an informed source told HRW. However, the prosecutor can appeal the decision within 60 days.
Qatari authorities arrested and detained Rowhani in April on charges claiming that he violated public order and social and religious Muslim values on Instagram and X accounts linked to him, the court documents say. HRW 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.