Iran issues arrest warrants for 1,000 protesters

Senior jurist says courts will use 'accuracy and speed' in trying suspects

Iranians protest in Tehran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by the morality police in September. AP Photo

Protests have intensified despite a vicious government crackdown that has left as many as 200 people dead, although estimates of the toll by rights groups vary. AP Photo

At least eight members of the security forces have also been killed or wounded during the unrest and there are signs that violent resistance could be intensifying. AP Photo

A fire burns at the office of the governor of Mahabad, in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran. AFP

Protesters gather in the a courtyard of Chitgar complex in western Tehran. AFP

Iranian protesters continue to defy a deadly crackdown by security forces. AFP

A woman cuts her hair at the grave site of Nika Shahkarami in the city of Khorramabad, during a reported memorial held to mark 40 days since the death of the 16-year-old. AFP

A woman not wearing a headscarf stands on top of a vehicle as thousands make their way towards Saqez, Mahsa Amini's home town, to mark 40 days since her death in police custody. AFP

Iranian riot police prepare to confront protesters the capital, Tehran. AFP

Iranian protesters surge forward amid clashes with riot police in Tehran. AFP

A crowd blocks an intersection during a protest to mark 40 days since Amini's death in custody. AP Photo

Iranian police arrive to disperse a protest in Tehran. AP Photo

Protesters chant at a vigil for Amini at the Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology in Tehran. Reuters

Students at Sharif University of Technology attend a protest. AP Photo

Police outside Sharif University during a student protest. AP Photo

Students at the university protest over the death of Amini, who was in 'morality police' custody for allegedly breaking strict rules on head coverings for women. AP Photo

The students' banner says: 'No to mandatory hijab'. AP Photo

Iranian authorities have issued arrest warrants for 1,000 protesters involved in demonstrations that erupted across the country after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman who died in police custody six weeks ago.

The trials will be held publicly this week, state-run IRNA news reported, quoting Tehran's prosecutor general Ali Alqasi Mehr.

The named individuals were engaged in “subversive actions” during recent events and are facing “serious accusations”, including assaulting or “martyring” security officials and setting fire to public property.

They will be tried in a Revolutionary Court, IRNA reported.

The trial of five men charged with offences that can carry capital punishment over the protests opened on Saturday in Tehran.

One of the men, Mohammad Ghobadlou, was sentenced to death at the first trial session, according to a video from his mother posted by the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Centre. However this has not been confirmed by the judiciary.

Amini died after being arrested by the morality police because of the way she was dressed, prompting protesters to take to the streets calling for the regime's end.

Many demonstrators have been killed since then. The Iran-based Human Rights Activists group estimates the death toll to be more than 270.

On Saturday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the “patience” of its forces had run out.

Monday's announcement marks the government's first confirmation demonstrators will face legal action since the movement began on September 16.

Tehran has repeatedly said that its security forces were not responsible for Amini's death. Some of the country's highest-ranking officials said foreign interference was behind the anti-government movement.

“Those who intend to confront and subvert the regime are dependent on foreigners and will be punished according to legal standards,” said Gholam Mohseni Ejei, the country's Chief Justice.

“Without a doubt, our judges will deal with the cases of the recent riots with accuracy and speed,” he said.

In other parts of the country, authorities have charged protesters with sowing “corruption on Earth” — a broad charge that carries the possibility of a death penalty.

Iran has one of the highest rates of executions of prisoners in the world, according to the UN, with many put to death for drug offences or on politically motivated charges.

The UN said the death penalty, where not abolished, must only be reserved for “the most serious crimes.”

In recent years, Iran has been accused by rights groups of executing protesters in secret and, in 2019, the UN Human Rights Office said Iran was extracting confessions through torture, as well as killing those imprisoned.

It called on Iranian authorities to be transparent about the fate of detainees.

Protests continue

Residents of the Tehran district of Ekbatan late Monday shouted protest movement slogans including "Death to the dictator" with security forces using stun grenades in a bid to stop the action, according to footage posted on the 1500tasvir monitoring site and other outlets.

The Norway-based Hengaw rights organisation said the funeral in the mainly Kurdish city of Sanandaj in northwestern Iran on Monday for Sarina Saedi, a 16-year-old girl it said was killed in the crackdown, turned into a protest with anti-regime slogans shouted and women removing headscarves.

1500tasvir also posted a widely shared video on social media showing medical students protesting in the northern city of Tabriz telling the authorities "You are the pervert!" in a message to the morality police.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group said that students were on Tuesday staging a sit-in protest at Isfahan University while social media footage indicated a similar action was in progress at the engineering faculty of Amir Kabir university in Tehran.