Iran protests: 400 demonstrators in Tehran sentenced to several years in prison

Enlarge image

Tehran in October: People in Iran have been protesting for three months

Photo: Uncredited / dpa

The wave of protests in Iran continues.

Now the regime may be counting on prison sentence figures for protesters to act as a deterrent.

The Tehran judicial authority has published information on previous convictions.

According to this, 400 demonstrators have been sentenced to prison terms in the capital alone.

This was announced by a spokesman for the authority, as reported by the Isna news agency.

The length of the prison sentences is therefore between two and ten years.

70 other demonstrators were also sentenced to heavy fines.

Observers assume that demonstrators arrested in other Iranian cities can expect similar punishments.

Thousands of people could be affected.

According to human rights activists, at least 18,000 participants in the system-critical demonstrations have been arrested so far.

It is unclear how many of them have been charged so far.

The authorities usually accuse them of taking part in illegal demonstrations, causing unrest or endangering national security.

In November, demonstrators were sentenced to death for the first time.

The second demonstrator was executed on Monday.

Majidresa Rahnaward was accused of stabbing two security officers and injuring four others.

A few days earlier, the death sentence against 23-year-old Mohsen Shekari had already been carried out.

He is said to have injured a member of the paramilitary Basij militias during a road blockade in Tehran.

At least 23 other people face execution

Internationally, the executions were harshly condemned and triggered horror.

At the beginning of the week, the European Union reacted to the serious violations of human rights with new sanctions.

The Iranian regime remains tough.

At least 23 other demonstrators are at risk of execution, according to media reports.

The trigger for the nationwide protests was the death of the Iranian Kurd Jina Mahsa Amini.

She died in police custody on September 16 after being arrested by the Morality Police for breaking the Islamic dress code.

Since her death, tens of thousands have been demonstrating across the country against the government's repressive course and the Islamic system of rule.

asc/dpa