The seven—five men and two women—are the lay leaders of the community, which has been under severe pressure ever since the revolution; Iran’s clergy view Baha’ism as apostasy. The seven handled administrative matters, not religious issues.
Last August, all seven were sentenced to 20 years each in prison on such charges as spying, spreading corruption on earth, undermining Islam and cooperation with Israel.
The charges could have brought the death penalty. It is widely believed they were not given the death penalty out of fear that the well-organized international Baha’i movement would be able to assemble loud objections and perhaps more punitive sanctions on Iran.
An appeals court soon halved the sentences to 10 years each, reportedly after the major convictions, including the espionage convictions, were overturned. But no paperwork has been shown to the Baha’is, so the exact legal decisions are uncertain. The Iranian government gave the EU a document in February saying only that the sentences had been reduced to 10 years.
The Baha’i community reported that the reduction was reversed last month, the 20-year sentences re-imposed and the seven Baha’is informed of the change. Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations said it appeared the reversal came as the result of a challenge by the prosecutor general. But, again, the absence of paperwork raised uncertainties.
US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, “We’re deeply troubled by [these] reports.… We condemn this unprecedented step.”
Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, said she was “disturbed” by the news and called for all seven to freed immediately. Their sentencing, she said, “appears to be motivated by their belonging to a minority faith.”
Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa, said, “Yet again, the Iranian authorities are manipulating their own justice system to persecute members of a religious minority.”