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Baha'i Leaders In Iran Are Charged With Espionage

By Howard M. Friedman

The Washington Post reported yesterday that seven Baha'i leaders in Iran who have been detained for eight months have now been charged with espionage. A formal indictment will be issued next week. Iran's prosecutor general, Ayatollah Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi, has focused on ties between Bahia's and Israel. The Baha'i headquarters is in the Israeli city of Haifa, but Baha'i has followers around the world. Hundreds of Bahia's have been arrested since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. The 300,000 Baha'i followers in Iran are not allowed to hold religious gatherings, and those who publicly announce their faith are excluded from universities, army service and government employment. Abdolfattah Soltani, one of the lawyers for the Baha'i leaders, has not been permitted to meet with them.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on February 18, 2009 (boomark / email).