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Iran to hold public trials for thousands detained in anti-hijab protests
Iran Anti-Hijab Protests: Nationwide protests began in Iran in September following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Iran’s judiciary announced that it will hold public trials for as many as 1,000 people detained during anti-hijab protests in Tehran and more than a thousand others outside the capital, Guardian reported. The decision comes at a time when international concern grew over Iran’s response to the protests.
Nationwide protests began in Iran in September following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the country's controversial morality police. Mahsa Amini was arrested for not wearing a hijab properly.
Protests continued in Iran even as authorities warned protesters it is time to leave the streets. Videos shared widely on social media showed that the demonstrations have shown no sign of abating.
Read more: Explained: Iran's morality police, hijab and violent protests over woman's death
However, security services have unleashed a fierce crackdown in which at least 253 people have been killed, according to one human rights organisation.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was shocked by the number of innocent protesters who were being arrested during the protests as the country has already announced that it will ask the European Union to sanction the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
Canada also announced a fourth round of sanctions against senior Iranian officials and its law enforcement agents.
