(CNN) — A death-penalty trial of seven Baha’i prisoners accused of spying for Israel has been delayed, Iranian officials have told family members, according to the U.S. Baha’i Office of External Affairs.
The trial did not begin Saturday as scheduled and no date for its resumption has been given, the Baha’i office said. The government has not officially commented on the status of the trial.
The seven Baha’is have been held for more than a year without formal charges or access to their attorneys, said Diane Ala’i, representative to the United Nations for the Baha’i International Community.
She said the seven are being legally represented by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani. But according to the human rights group Amnesty International, Soltani was arrested in Iran on June 16 and his whereabouts are unknown.
