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GENEVA — Some nine weeks after they were arrested, 11 Iranian Baha'is – associated with an initiative offering higher education to young community members barred from university – are now reportedly facing charges.

The Baha'i International Community has learned that, by establishing the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education, the 11 are accused of "conspiracy against national security" and "conspiracy against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

"What could possibly motivate the Islamic Republic to make such a charge?" asks Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva.

A widespread international outcry has followed the latest attack on the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), in which some 39 homes were raided at the end of May. Of the 19 BIHE staff or faculty members who were originally detained in connection with the raids, 11 remain in prison.