The United States decried on Monday Iran's decision to try seven members of the banned Bahai religion on charges of spying for arch-foe Israel.
"The United States strongly condemns the Iranian government's decision to commence the espionage trial against seven leaders of the Iranian Bahai community," US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said in a statement.
"Authorities have detained these persons for more than 20 months, without making public any evidence against them and giving them little access to legal counsel," he said, adding that Tehran was responsible for the Bahais' safety during their detention.
"These persons are entitled to due process. The right to a fair and public hearing is embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said Saturday the seven suspects would be put on trial this week in Tehran, adding they were arrested "because they played a role in organizing the Ashura protests and for having sent abroad pictures of the unrest."
The Iranian regime has stepped up a crackdown on the opposition following bloody anti-government protests on December 27 during the Shiite commemoration of Ashura when eight people were killed.
Hardliners now accuse protesters of opposing the Islamic republic's leadership and regime.
A spokeswoman for the Bahai detainees rejected charges they had weapons in their homes.
"We are deeply concerned about Iran's ongoing persecution of Bahais and treatment of other members of religious minorities who continue to be targeted solely on the basis of their beliefs," Crowley said.
"We join the international community in urging the Iranian authorities to release all religious minorities who are currently in detention for peacefully exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms."
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a non-partisan official body that advises the US government, criticized Iran last week for "ramping up vilification" of Bahais in light of recent unrest.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed June re-election triggered a wave of opposition protest amid charges that the vote was marred by massive fraud.
At least 300 of those arrested during protests are still held in Tehran, police say.
Followers of the Bahai faith, founded in Iran in 1863, are regarded as infidels and suffered persecution both before and after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The Bahais consider Bahaullah, born in 1817, to be the last prophet sent by God, in direct conflict with Islam, the religion of the vast majority of Iranians, which says Mohammad was the last prophet.
Copyright 2010 AFP American Edition
