( CNN ) -- Seven Baha ' i prisoners face a death-penalty trial Saturday in Iran amid calls for their release from a U.S. panel on religious freedom . A U.S. panel on religious freedom has demanded the immediate release of the imprisoned Bahai 's . Responding to a letter from Roxana Saberi , the Iranian-American journalist who spent four months in an Iranian jail earlier this year , the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom ( USCIRF ) demanded the seven prisoners be freed rather than stand trial on charges of espionage and religious violations . If convicted , they could face execution . `` In addition to the hundreds of Iranians who have been detained in the context of Iran 's disputed presidential poll , many other 'security detainees ' arrested long before the June election remain behind bars , '' Saberi said in her letter requesting U.S. government intervention in the Baha ' i case . `` These Iranians and the authorities who have detained them need to know that the Iranian people 's human rights are a matter of international concern , '' she said . Saberi , who was tried , convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison on espionage charges , spent time in a cell at Tehran 's Evin prison with two of the Baha ' i prisoners . Saberi was released in May . Leonard Leo , chairman of USCIRF , said the crackdown on protests after Iran 's June 12 presidential elections `` have exposed the world to the cold realities about how the Iranian government regularly deals with dissent or views that are a perceived threat to the theocratic regime . '' `` The charges against these imprisoned Baha'is are baseless and a pretext for the persecution and harassment of a disfavored religious minority , '' Leo said . `` They should be released immediately . '' The seven Baha'is have been held for more than a year without formal charges or access to their attorneys , said Diane Ala ' i , representative to the United Nations for the Baha ' i International Community . She said the seven are being legally represented by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani . But according to the human rights group Amnesty International , Soltani was arrested in Iran on June 16 and his whereabouts are unknown . Ala ' i said the lawyers have not had access to their clients though they have been able to read their files . USCIRF , which is an independent bipartisan federal commission , said the seven Baha'is are charged under the jurisdiction of Branch 28 of Iran 's Revolutionary Court , the same judicial process that convicted Saberi in April . The Baha ' i prisoners are accused of spying for Israel , spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic and religious offenses . `` This trial is all about them being Baha ' i , '' Ala ' i said . `` The accusations are completely false . '' The Baha ' i faith is a world religion that originated in 19th-century Persia but Iran does not recognize it . Baha'is are regarded as apostates and heretics in Iran , where they have long been persecuted . Ala ' i said that since the Islamic revolution in 1979 , more than 200 Baha'is have been executed in Iran . Iran denies that the Baha ' i community is mistreated . Earlier this year , prosecutor general Qorban-Ali Dorri Najafabadi , told state-run Press TV that the Iranian government has afforded the Baha'is with `` all the facilities offered to other Iranian citizens . '' But Najafabadi said there is irrefutable evidence that many Baha'is are in close contact with Iran 's enemies and have strong links to Israel . The treatment of the Baha'is in Iran and the detention of the seven prisoners have attracted global attention . Human Rights Watch , the world rights monitoring group , last month called for the release of the imprisoned or a prompt trial , with `` fair and open proceedings . '' Lawyer Cherie Blair , the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair , wrote a newspaper column this week urging international pressure before the trial to `` ensure the seven men and women receive a fair trial and a chance of justice . ''
Seven Baha'is in Iran to face trial Saturday , could face death penalty . U.S. panel on religious freedom urges their release , calls charges `` baseless '' The seven leaders are accused of spying for Israel and religious offenses . Rights groups say the seven have spent a year in jail without access to lawyer .