Iran announced on Monday it will hold public trials for 1,000 protesters who took part in demonstrations after the September 16 death of 22-year old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police.
The mass trials will take place in Tehran, marking the Iranian government’s first attempt to use a large scale legal response to quell ongoing protests over Amini’s death, the Associated Press reported.
Judicial authorities were quoted by state-run news agency IRNA describing how 1,000 people who played a part in the protests will be indicted to stand trial in Tehran due to their "subversive actions." The officials alleged that the defendants were guilty of an array of charges, including setting public property on fire and assaulting security guards.
"Those who intend to confront and subvert the regime are dependent on foreigners and will be punished according to legal standards," Iran's judiciary head Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei said.
Ejei was quoted implying that some of the protesters would face charges of collaboration with foreign governments, repeating a false claim by officials that protests were a plot by the US, Israel, the UK and Saudi Arabia.
"Without a doubt, our judges will deal with the cases of the recent riots with accuracy and speed," he said.