(CNN) — Seven leaders of Iran’s Baha’i minority went on trial in Tehran Tuesday accused of spying for Israel, a charge their supporters say is motivated by religious discrimination.
The seven — two women and five men — are also accused of spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic and committing religious offenses, charges that can carry the death penalty.
“We understand that no observers were allowed in the court,” said Diane Ala’i, the Baha’i International Community’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. “We understand that even the lawyers had to argue their way inside the court — lawyers who, in any case, had virtually no access to the accused for nearly two years.”
At the same time, interrogators from the intelligence ministry and a film crew were seen going into the courtroom, Ala’i said.
“We find this completely outrageous, given that these seven have been held purely because of their religious beliefs, in total contradiction to any human rights standards,” she said.
