Iran Puts Baha’i Leaders on Trial
Members of the Baha’i communities in Arlington, Washington, DC, and across the country are watching developments in Iran with concern – Seven leaders of Iran’s Baha’i minority went on trial in Tehran Tuesday (January 12) accused of spying for Israel.
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.”
The seven leaders of the Baha’i Faith in Iran have been held in prison for more than 18 months.
The world’s media is watching developments, including:

A picnic-gathering of Bahá’ís in northern Virginia to celebrate the Birth of the Báb, the Herald Prophet of the Bahá’í Faith, will be held on Tuesday, October 20, from 12:00 noon to 4:30 pm at the Cherry Hill Park in Falls Church, VA (map URL).
On Saturday, September 12th the Arlington Bahá’í community will join with others in the DC metropolitan area for an evening dedicated to supporting religious freedom and human rights in Iran. The event will take place at 7:00pm at the 
