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Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Islamic government of Iran has been trying to paint the Baha’is as the “enemy within”. The Baha’is are, the government claims, one of the main forces of evil in the country; the Baha’is are plotting with external enemies such as the United States and Israel to undermine the country; the Baha’is doing things (usually undefined) within the country to disrupt the country; the Baha’is are trying to destroy Islam. The more the country slides into an economic mire, the more the government needs to build up the seriousness of the threat posed by the Baha’is so as to account for their economic failure.

Show-trials

Show trials are a major tool in the armory of an authoritarian regime. Stalin used them to great effect in consolidating his power in the 1930s, for example. It makes the statement that the government is being active and taking steps to defend the nation against the forces of evil. Since the judge and prosecution is already controlled by the government and the defense lawyers are crippled by not knowing what the charges are, what the evidence against the defendants is nor what will be acceptable as counter-evidence, the result is a foregone conclusion. And with a fanfare the government can announce that due process has been carried out according to the law of the land and the defendants have been found guilty of exactly what the government had accused them of, thus vindicating the dire warnings... >>>