Sep22
Voice of America: Basic freedoms violated in Iran
The upcoming trial of seven Iranian Baha’i leaders was mentioned in an editorial published by Voice of America on Sept. 21, 2009, and excerpted below.
Another group facing unjust charges are the 7 leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community, the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran. The 5 men and 2 women were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held in Evin prison with no direct access to legal counsel. They have been charged with a variety of offenses, including 2 capital crimes: “corrupting the Earth” and “espionage for Israel.”
Their trial date has been set for October 18th. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom all charge that the 7 Baha’is are being targeted solely because of their religious beliefs and have called on the Iranian government to release them.
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