Iran: MRG calls for fair trial for Bahá'í leaders
| Publisher | Minority Rights Group International |
| Publication Date | 5 February 2010 |
| Cite as | Minority Rights Group International, Iran: MRG calls for fair trial for Bahá'í leaders, 5 February 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4dfb6552c.html [accessed 25 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Minority Rights Group International on Friday called on the Iranian authorities to ensure a fair trial of seven Bahá'í leaders charged with a series of criminal offenses, including 'acting against the security of the country' and conducting 'propaganda activities against the Islamic order.'
Charges were made against the seven leaders at their first court appearance last month and their trial has been fixed for 7 February, 2010. All of the accused were arrested in May 2008 and have been held in Evin Prison, in Tehran, without charges for over 18 months, the Geneva based NGO Bahá'í International Community said in a recent statement. All seven leaders have pleaded not guilty to the charges, it added.
There are some 300,000 Baha'is in Iran. The Bahá'ís have faced persecution in the country; religious leaders are often arbitrarily arrested and detained without charges and the community also faces incidents of forced conversion to Islam.
Link to original story on MRG website
