Iran signals fast trial, execution of protesters as toll crosses 2,500
26-year-old faces first hanging
The head of Iran’s judiciary on Wednesday signalled that there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained in nationwide protests despite a warning from US President Trump.
The comments from Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei come as activists had warned hangings of those detained could come soon. Already, a bloody security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,571, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Trump has repeatedly warned that the US may take military action over the killing of peaceful protesters, just months after it bombed Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war launched by Israel against the Islamic Republic in June.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Iran held a mass funeral of some 100 security force members killed in the demonstrations after authorities earlier said it would be 300. The Human Rights Activists News Agency said 2,403 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated.
Meanwhile, 26-year-old Erfan Soltani is allegedly scheduled to be hanged to death after his arrest during the protests in Karaj, an NGO group says.
