Dubai: Iran’s hardline judiciary will hold public trials of nearly 1,000 people accused of rioting in Tehran, a semi-official news agency said on Monday, following weeks of protests that began after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. Crushing efforts are being stepped up.
The nearly seven-week-old protests, the biggest challenge to Iran’s clerical leaders since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, have persisted despite a deadly crackdown and increasingly harsh warnings, with the Revolutionary Guard bluntly keeping protesters off the streets. Asked to stay.
The judiciary has denied that a man has yet been sentenced for allegedly killing a police officer and five other officers after he was arrested during the riots. was charged with wounding after a woman identified herself as his mother that the man was convicted. Death at preliminary hearing
Iranian leaders have vowed to crack down on protesters they have described as rioters, and have accused enemies, including the United States, of fomenting the unrest.
Protesters from all walks of life have taken part since the death of 22-year-old Amini in Morality police custody, with students and women playing a prominent role, waving scarves and burning scarves.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Tehran’s chief justice as saying the cases of about 1,000 people who “committed acts of sabotage in recent events, including attacking or killing security guards, will be heard.” , (and) setting fire to public property”. Place in a revolutionary court.
It said the trials were scheduled for this week and would be held in public.
It was not immediately clear whether the 1,000 indictments announced on Monday included the 315 protesters the state-run IRNA news agency reported Saturday had been charged in Tehran, among them At least five are charged with serious crimes.
The judiciary said 22-year-old Mohammad Ghobadlu – who he accused of running over police officers – had not yet been sentenced. It said he was charged with “corruption on the ground” – a capital offence.
In a court hearing partially broadcast by Iran’s state TV on Saturday, Ghobadalu said he lost control of his car and hit someone who smashed into his windshield. fell and broke it after which he could not see anything. “I got out of the car and put my hands on my head (to surrender),” he said.
JEE News was not immediately able to contact his family or the lawyer representing them on Monday.
Earlier in a video shared on social media, a woman identified as his mother said he had been sentenced to death at a hearing two days earlier and the court had dismissed his lawyers. .
“My son is sick, the court doesn’t even allow his lawyer to enter the courtroom… They interrogated him without a lawyer and sentenced him to death in the very first session, and on it as soon as possible.” wanted to implement”. The woman, who did not give her name.
JEE News could not independently verify his account, nor that of the judiciary.
Stepping up warnings against the protesters, Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami warned them not to take to the streets on Saturday, calling them “the last day of riots”.
Saeed Golkar of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga said the warning was a clear message that the Islamic Republic viewed the protests as “a very dangerous event for the regime.” He said the continued protests are a sign that people are more determined to challenge the government than in the past.
“Unfortunately…, history has shown us that they are willing to use any level of violence to stay in power.”
Mir Javidanfar, an Iranian lecturer at Israel’s Reichman University, said the official warnings pointed to growing state concern about the resilience of the unrest. are not ending”.
More Protests
The Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s elite military and security force, have yet to be used to quell the unrest. Until now, authorities have mostly relied on riot police and volunteer Basij militias to quell the protests.
News agency said 284 protesters were killed in the unrest on Sunday, including 45 minors. Around 36 members of the security forces were also killed.
Footage shared by 1500 Photos shows people fleeing a memorial service for a man killed in protests 40 days ago in the city of Shahryar near Tehran, which it said was security forces. are fleeing from the attack. Earlier videos showed dozens of mourners at the gathering, chanting slogans calling for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The protests have been fueled by the deaths of several teenage girls who were reportedly killed during the demonstration.
On Monday, people chanted anti-government slogans during a gathering at the grave of a 16-year-old Kurdish girl killed by security forces in the city of Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province, according to rights group Hangau.
State media reported that WhatsApp and Instagram – both owned by Meta Platforms – would be blocked, accusing the companies of failing to “cooperate with the laws of the Islamic Republic”.
Iran has blocked both applications used to share videos of the protests since the protests began.
