Iran's Jewish community has shrunk to some 35,000 members...

Iran's Jewish community has shrunk to some 35,000 members from more than 80,000 before the 1979 Islamic revolution as many emigrated to the United States and Israel. In April 2000, a trial of thirteen Iranian Jews accused of spying for Israel was conducted. The factual basis of the case against the accused remained shrouded in mystery even after ten of them were convicted of forming an illegal organization and maintaining contacts with Israel, a hostile foreign power. While the trial was in progress, defendants gave interviews on state-controlled television in which they confessed to espionage. These confessions were contested by their lawyer, however, and appear not to have formed part of the court proceedings. In July ten of the defendants were sentenced to prison terms of between two and thirteen years. In September, the appeals court upheld the convictions but reduced the sentences to between two and six years. In 1996, Iran passed a law imposing the death penalty for espionage in a variety of areas not covered by earlier legislation, such as giving information to foreigners on the country's social conditions. Crimes of opinion, such as belonging to or sympathizing with political groups that have been declared illegal, often imply - following an unfair trial - a death sentence. Spying for "Satan" (the United States) and "Zionism" (Israel) is often deemed a crime of opinion. Public executions and executions of minors are carried out in Iran. A minor who has reached puberty - 9 years for girls and 15 for boys - can be judged for crimes by the same standards as adults. Clandestine executions, carried out without a court sentence, are held in the prisons and often the families of the victims are not advised. The Evin prison in Tehran is famous for such executions. Summary executions, kidnappings and forced disappearances at the hands of death squads have occurred in Iran from 1996 onwards.