JERUSALEM (JTA) — The trial in Tehran of seven Baha’i adherents accused of spying for Israel was postponed.
The trial, which was scheduled to begin Tuesday, was postponed at the request of lawyers, Iran’s official news agency reported. The attorneys need more time to prepare, according to the ISNA news agency.
Six of the defendants were arrested in May 2008 on security-related charges, according to Reuters. One had been arrested in March of the same year.
They are accused of spying for Israel, spreading propaganda against Iran and committing religious offenses. If convicted, they face the death penalty.
The defendants were assigned new attorneys recently after one of their attorneys was arrested during the recent unrest over Iranian elections and the other did not return from a trip abroad, CNN reported.
The men going on trial were members of a committee in charge of helping Baha’is in Iran, according to the Baha’i International Community, which is based in Israel.
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