Trial in Teheran A number of puzzling and disturbing circum-
stances surround the trial now going on before a military court in Teheran of fourteen young Persians. The prosecution has asked for the death penalty for four of them accused of complicity in the attempt on the Shah's life at the Marble Palace in'Teheran in April and up to ten years' imprisonment for the other ten on a charge of making Communist propaganda.
There is widespread scepticism in the Persian capital about the government's claim of a link between the men, all of them intellectuals and five of them recent graduates of British univer- sities, and the conscript who is supposed to have fired the shots. The' inconsistency of the accusa- tions has not helped. The arrangements for the de- fence appear to have been sketchy. Even at the best of times Persian military defending counsel are cautious; they are apt to be prosecuted them- selves if they are too. zealous. A British barrister representing Amnesty International is now on his way to Teheran to observe the closing stages of the trial. In recent years Persia has acquired an enviable reputation among the turbulent countries of the Middle East. It would be a pity if she were to spoil that reputation now.
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