Iran ‘tries seven Bahais for proselytising’

Iran has put on trial seven Bahais accused of proselytising, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais of the United States said in a statement received by AFP on Tuesday. The six men and one woman, began to appear, individually or in groups, before the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, which deals with crimes against the regime, the statement said. They are part of a group of leaders or teachers of BIHE (Bahai Institute for Higher Education), an online university, the statement said, adding that the authorities announced their arrest in May for “proselytising.” Iranian media gave no news confirming the opening of the trial. The statement added that the defence lawyer, Abdolfattah Soltani, was also arrested on September 10. That was announced by Amnesty International and has been denounced especially by the European Union. Soltani is a co-founder of the Centre for Human Rights in Iran, along with Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi. The Bahais, who are barred from higher education and government posts in staunchly Shiite Muslim Iran, are regarded as infidels by the majority community and have been persecuted both before and after the country’s 1979 Islamic revolution. The statement said seven Bahais are among a group of 19 people arrested on May 21, and that the others have since been released. In July, the assembly said they were accused of “conspiracy against national security and against the Islamic Republic” for their activities in BIHE. Iranian Bahais are regularly prosecuted and seven community leaders were sentenced to 20 years in prison in late 2010.