Iran signals plans for swift trials and executions of protesters
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Iran signaled Wednesday it was preparing to conduct swift trials and the execution of antigovernment protesters, defying a warning from President Trump as it intensifies a crackdown on nationwide demonstrations. Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, said that the courts should act quickly against protesters.
“If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly," he said in a video released by Iranian state television. The group Human Rights Activists in Iran said Wednesday that the death toll had surpassed 2,400, as the regime has moved to crush the demonstrations.
It said more than 140 members of the government security forces had been killed and that more than 18,000 people had been detained. Human-rights groups say detainees are at high risk of torture and execution. Information about the protests and potential prosecutions has been scarce after the regime cut off the internet last week, causing a near-total communications blackout.
The first execution of a prisoner arrested and convicted in connection with the protests is understood to be imminent, human rights activists said. The family of Erfan Soltani, who was arrested on Jan. 8, was told his death sentence would be carried out on Wednesday, according to Awyer Shekhi of Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, a Norway-based nonprofit.
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