Yemen’s Houthi rebels accused members of the Baha'i community, who they deported last month, of being “fugitives”, members of the community said on Sunday.

The rebels released six members of the Baha’i faith from prison last month, where United Nations human rights experts said they had been held as prisoners of conscience because of their beliefs.

The Baha'i International Community called for the members' assets to be returned, for all charges against Baha’is in Yemen to be dropped and for Baha’is to be allowed to live in Yemen without persecution.

None of these demands have been met.

A Houthi court in Sanaa has requested that five of the released members attend a hearing scheduled for September 18.

“The Baha’i International Community condemns the Houthi rebels' failure to drop the malicious charges that are driven by religious motives against the Bahai’s that they released and deported out of the country,” a statement by the community said.

The Houthis said the members were “fleeing from justice”.

The Representative of the Baha'i International Community to the UN, Diane Alai, said the community is deeply concerned about these developments.

"All Baha'is who have been taken out of prison are innocent and the charges against them are unfounded. They must be dropped,” she said.

“They all love their homeland and do not want to leave it, but it has not left them with a safe and realistic option to stay,” she said.

The court session is a dangerous escalation against the Bahai community and is just more evidence of a "pattern of persecution" against the minority group, Ms Alai added.

For years, human rights advocates have decried unlawful incarceration of the Baha'is and have demanded the minority be granted the right to practise its faith freely.

The Baha’i faith originated in Iran in the 19th century and advocates universal peace and acceptance of all religions as manifestations of one God.

Many of the 2,000 Baha’i members living in Yemen reside in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, which was taken by Houthi rebels in 2014.

Since then, the group have faced persecution by the militants, often on unsubstantiated charges of communicating with Israel.