Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws LT KC and Steven Powles KC call for the immediate release of Remy Rohani from custody by Qatar
On 2nd June 2025 Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws LT KC and Steven Powles KC wrote to His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, to express their deep concern over the renewed detention of Remy Rowhani, a prominent former Director General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) MENA regional office who has served his country of Qatar with distinction over decades. They received no reply.
Baroness Kennedy and Mr Powles have since 2021 been part of a team of international lawyers which has been assisting Mr Rowhani. In 2021 Mr Rowhani was the victim of a manifestly unfair prosecution in Qatar. There was no basis for the allegations he faced and the proceedings were conducted without any proper due process. Notwithstanding the lack of evidence Mr Rowhani was fined and imprisoned from December 2024 to January 2025. That case was instigated with the sole aim of putting pressure on the Bahá'í community of Qatar, which Mr Rowhani represents as Chairperson of the Bahá'í national assembly.
As numerous international human rights bodies and organisations have observed, the Qatari authorities have been systematically targeting the Bahá'í community of Qatar for many years. This was the case in 2021 and it is still the case now. The actions of the Qatari government risk the erasure of this minority religious community from Qatar.
Case after case is being fabricated against Mr Rowhani in an effort to create fear in the Bahá'í community. On 28 April 2025, Mr. Rowhani was called into the State Security Criminal Investigation Department. Officials told Mr. Rowhani that he is being detained because of the content of the X social media account of the Qatari Baha’i community, which he runs. The complaint against him was made by Qatar’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs on grounds that he was “promoting the ideology of a deviant sect” and “inciting public opinion”. Such terminology, in particular the reference to the Baha’is as a “deviant sect” belies its origins. Only the Islamic Republic of Iran uses such offensive language to describe the Baha’is as part of its effort to justify the nearly 50 years of persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran.
On 6 May 2025 the Office of the Public Prosecutor informed Mr Rowhani’s local legal team that he is being investigated for alleged offences under article 8 of the 2014 Qatar Cybercrime Prevention Law which provides penalties for “any person who, through an information network or information technology means, violates social values or principles, disseminates news, photos or video or audio recordings related to the sanctity of people’s private or family life, even if the same is true, or insults or slanders others”. Prosecuting Mr Rowhani for the mere existence of an X account for the Bahá'í community in Qatar amounts to the effective criminalisation of Mr Rowhani on the sole basis of his religious beliefs, this is a clear violation of his freedom of conscience and belief. It appears that simply being a Baha’i in Qatar amounts to an offence. These new charges highlight the lengths to which the authorities in Qatar are prepared to go to erase the Bahá'ís from their country. Such action is contrary to all of Qatar’s international legal obligations.
Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws LT KC and Steven Powles KC call for the immediate release of Mr. Rowhani and for him to be cleared of these unfounded charges and for all members of the Bahá'í community in Qatar to be treated with dignity, respect, and in accordance with fundamental human rights standards.
