The trial of the seven Baha’i leaders in Iran set for August 18 was postponed to October 18, 2009. This marks yet another delay in the trial date for the group, which has been held without formal charges and access to legal counsel in the notorious Evin prison and denied the right to be released on bail.
They only indications for the charges the group will face in their trial before the 28th Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran come from accusation leveled against the group by Iranian state media for “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic republic.” These accusations have been categorically denied by family members of the arrested seven and by the Baha’i world community. It is clear that this show-trial is part of the ongoing persecution of Baha’is in Iran, based solely on their faith.

The seven Baha’is are the members of “Friends of Iran”, a national-level coordinating group for the Baha’i community in Iran. Six of the group, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm, have been arrested in their home in Tehran on May 14, 2008. Mahvash Sabet was arrested on March 5, 2008 during a visit to Mashad.

We renew our call for the immediate release of the seven innocent Baha’is. Any trial based on such false charges can not be fair, regardless of its outcome. As Muslims, we must stand behind those innocent people persecuted in the name of our religion. We would like to reiterate our support for the persecuted Baha’is in Iran in this difficult time.