Public trial of 1,000 people in connection with the protests in Tehran

A public trial will be held for almost 1,000 people who have been charged in connection with the anti-government demonstrations that have gripped Iran.

As worldwide criticism mounted about Iran’s response to the protests that started with the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini following her imprisonment, the judiciary of Iran declared that it will hold public trials for up to 1,000 people imprisoned during recent protests in Tehran alone. The protests, which at first centred on Iran’s obligatory hijab (headscarf), have since evolved into one of the most significant threats to the country’s governing clerics since the tumultuous years that followed the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

According to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, which cited Tehran’s chief judge, the Revolutionary Court would hear the cases of roughly 1,000 people “who have committed acts of sabotage in recent events, including assaulting or martyring security guards, (and) setting fire to public property.”

The trials were slated to take place this week and would be open to the public, it stated.

“Those who intend to confront and subvert the regime are dependent on foreigners and will be punished according to legal standards,” said Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, indicating that some protesters would be charged with collaborating with foreign governments.

Officials in Tehran have often asserted unfounded accusations that the upheaval was sparked by Iran’s adversaries abroad. Without a doubt, he continued, “our courts will handle the matters involving the recent riots with accuracy and speed.”

Over the course of weeks of nonstop protests, security personnel have dispersed gatherings using live bullets and tear gas. According to the organisation Human Rights Activists in Iran, at least 270 people have died and 14,000 have been detained. Even after the feared paramilitary Revolutionary Guard told young Iranians to cease, demonstrations have continued.

Ejei further asserted that prosecutors have made efforts to distinguish between irate Iranians who wanted to air their complaints in public, and those who intended to overthrow the theocracy. It should be known, who among the agitators was focused on confronting the system and overturning it, he said.

In other Iranian provinces, the judiciary has announced accusations against hundreds of people. Some have been charged with “corruption on earth” and “war against God,” both of which are capital penalties.

Since unrest started more than six weeks ago, the government’s mass indictments represent its first significant legal effort to quell the dissenting voices.

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