The UK government is demanding “transparency”, “openness” and “international best practice” in any forthcoming trial of seven Bahá’í leaders being detained in Iran.

The call came from Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis MP, pictured, during a Westminster Hall debate held in London’s Houses of Parliament this morning.

According to information conveyed by the authorities at Evin Prison to family members of the seven Bahá’ís who have been imprisoned for more than a year, a trial is expected in the next few days. The seven were arrested in the spring of 2008 and have been held without any formal charges or access to their attorneys. Official Iranian news reports have said the Baha’is will be accused of “espionage for Israel”, “insulting religious sanctities” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”

“It is probably appropriate that all we do at this stage is demand maximum transparency and openness in the way in which that trial is conducted,” said Mr Lewis. “The judicial process should be conducted along the lines of international best practice, and international observers should be allowed to witness every conceivable stage of those court proceedings.”

Nine Members of Parliament spoke in the adjournment debate, tabled by Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Bahá’ís group in Westminster.

“The Baha’is seek no special privileges,” said Mr Opik, “All they seek are conditions that accord with the International Bill of Human Rights, of which Iran is a signatory. The right to life, the right to profess and practise their religion, the right to liberty and security of person, and the right to education and work: those are not heady demands.”

“We ask our British Government to apply whatever pressure they can to encourage the Iranian authorities to release the seven… They have done nothing wrong and do not deserve the treatment that they have received; they deserve justice and release from their unjustified incarceration.”

“We ask for collective action by British Ministers and our European and international partners for a longer-term easing of the persecution that is being endured by the Baha’is and others, including Christians, in Iran,” said Mr Opik.

“We will be keeping a close eye on proceedings to ensure that the leaders of the Baha’i community are treated appropriately and properly,” responded the Foreign Office Minister.

Read the full text of the debate