Swindon members of the Bahá'í Faith are saddened by the news a follower of their religion has been executed in Iran.

The 52-year-old medical supplies salesman had spent ten months in solitary confinement.

"He had refused to recant his religious beliefs and become a Muslim," said Fidelma Meehan, spokeswoman for Swindon’s Bahá'í community.

She added: "There are 15 other Bahá'ís in Iranian prisons, four on death row just because of their beliefs."

Swindon’s Bahá'í community is made up of 45 people aged eight to 85, who believe in peace and the unity of the human race.

Mum-of-two Shahla Davarpanah, of Grange Park, is grieving the latest death 15 years after the execution of her younger sister in Iran.

Mrs Davarpanah said: "Bahá'ís are again having to endure terrible suffering."

The Bahá'í Faith was founded more than 150 years ago in Iran (then Persia).