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March 15, 2015

April 1962: Fourteen Moroccan Bahá'í men were arrested

In April 1962 fourteen Moroccan Bahá'í men were arrested in Nador. On 31 October 1962, after more than six months of imprisonment, they were tried before the Criminal Court of Nador on charges of rebellion and disorder, attacks on public security, constitution of an association of criminals, and attacks on religious faith. On 10 December 1962 they were found guilty and sentenced. Their cases were then appealed to the Supreme Court of Morocco, which overruled the lower court's verdict and released the men. A world-wide campaign to publicize the plight of the Bahá'í prisoners focused public opinion, favourable to the Bahá'ís, on the Moroccan authorities. 
(Editorial explanatory footnotes concerning a message from the Universal House of Justice dated 17 October 1963; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986)