Iran judiciary chief vows fast trials for suspects arrested over protests

By AFP 14 January 2026, 9:33 am

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Anti-Iranian regime protesters burn an image of the Iranian flag, during a gathering outside the Iranian Embassy, central London, on January 12, 2026. (Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)

Iran’s judiciary chief vows fast-track trials for suspects arrested over a wave of protests that the authorities have dismissed as “riots,” state television says.

“If a person burned someone, beheaded someone and set them on fire then we must do our work quickly,” Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei says on a visit to a prison holding protest detainees, in comments broadcast by state television.

Iranian news agencies also quote him as saying the trials should be held “in public” and say he spent five hours in a prison in Tehran to examine the cases. Rights groups say thousands have been arrested and fear the judiciary will make extensive use of capital punishment.