As Protests Continue, Iranian Regime Judiciary Chief Calls for Capital Punishment
Written by
Shamsi Saadati
Iran’s nationwide uprising is a few days away from entering its third month. As the uprising expands across the country, regime officials call for more violence against protesters and those arrested during the demonstrations.
On November 7, Mohseni Ejei, the regime’s judiciary chief, showed his teeth, threatening protesters with capital punishment.
“Those who committed crimes during the recent riots should be rapidly identified and arrested. The judiciary officials should quickly act to condemn and punish the rioters,” he said, as quoted by the state-run Keyhan daily, known as Khamenei’s mouthpiece.
Despite the regime’s heavy crackdown, Iranians are holding their ground and clashing with security forces. “In recent incidents, [protesters] disrespected the security forces, Basij, and the police. They should see the consequences of their actions. They should be punished,” Ali Rezai, the regime supreme leader’s representative in the IRGC’s aerospace, said on November 8, according to the state-run Mehr news agency.
According to the Iranian opposition, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), over 500 protesters have been killed by the regime’s security forces. While footage from Iran shows security forces opening fire on unarmed civilians, authorities vehemently deny killing any protester.
#Iran opposition PMOI/MEK has published the names of 368 people killed by the regime's security forces during #IranRevolution2022.
The names of other victims will be published following verification. Over 550 protesters have been killed as of November 7.https://t.co/fBhNK357v9— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) November 8, 2022
“The enemies have staged the death of [protester] and created the current situation in the country. They intended to influence the people on the streets by instigating a combined war and force the population to violence, Massoud Setayeshi, the judiciary’s spokesperson, said in a press conference on November 8, according to the state-run Arman-e Meli daily.
Setayeshi also announced that the regime’s judiciary had issued the indictment of 1024 arrested protesters.
In recent days, the clerical regime has held several kangaroo trials of the uprising’s arrestees. The victims are deprived of having free access to lawyers and are denied from contacting their family members. Last week, the regime’s judiciary sentenced several detained protesters to execution.
As Protests Continue, Iranian Regime Judiciary Chief Calls for Capital Punishment