Iran Protests: 400 people sentenced to up to 10 years in jail
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Sulaiman
- . December 14, 2022
- . Update: December 14, 2022 3:29 pm
At least 400 people have been sentenced to up to 10 years in jail in Tehran in connection with the anti-hijab and anti-government protests. Ali Alghasi-Mehr, the judiciary chief for Tehran province, has confirmed the news.
Ali Alghasi-Mehr said judges had handed down the rulings to “rioters.” According to the judiciary’s Mizan Online website, 160 people were sentenced to between 5 and 10 years in prison, 80 people were sentenced to 2 to 5 years and 160 people to up to 2 years in prison.
According to the United Nations human rights experts, over 14,000 people have been arrested across the Islamic nation since mid-September.
The protests erupted in the Islamic nation in mid-September over the death of a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, identified as Mahsa Amini. Amini’s death in police custody sparked protests across the country. Human rights activists said that the country’s controversial morality police beat Amini’s head with a baton at the detention centre. The morality police allegedly arrested Amini for wearing a loose hijab. They took her to the detention centre but she collapsed on the floor.
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The protests have converted into an unprecedented civil uprising. Iranians have expressed anger over decades of regime oppression and misogyny, with women demanding an end to mandatory hijab.
According to Western powers, Iranian authorities have responded to protests with force, firing and violence. The UN office of the high commissioner for human rights has said that more than 300 people have been killed in the violent crackdown, including 40 children.
Two executions have already been carried out in the country. A 23-year-old man, identified as Majidreza Rahnavard, was publicly hanged from a construction crane on Monday. Earlier, a man identified as Mohsen Shekari was hanged after being convicted of injuring a security guard. These two men were charged with “moharebeh” (war against God).
