Iran opens trial of 5 facing death penalty over protests roiling country

TEHRAN, Iran — The trial of five Iranians charged with offenses that can carry capital punishment over protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death opened Saturday in Tehran, the judiciary’s news website said.

The Islamic Republic has witnessed a wave of protests over the death of 22-year-old Amini on September 16 after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

The street violence, which authorities have dubbed “riots,” has led to dozens of deaths, mostly among demonstrators but also among the security forces.

Hundreds of protesters including women have been arrested.

“The first hearing of a number of defendants from the recent riots opened this morning at Tehran’s revolutionary tribunal,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.

Charges have been filed against more than 1,000 individuals in provinces across Iran in connection to the protests, the judiciary said on Wednesday.

Mizan reported that an individual identified as Mohammad Ghobadlou was charged in Tehran with “corruption on earth,” an offense punishable by death, for “attacking police with a car, which resulted in the death of one officer and the injury of five others.”

Another of the five, Saeed Shirazi, faces the same charge for “inciting people to commit crimes against the country’s security,” Mizan said.

The three others, identified as Saman Seyedi, Mohammad Boroghani, and Mohsen Rezazadeh, have all been accused of “moharebeh,” which means “war against God” — a charge that can also carry a death sentence.