Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Iranian authorities have escalated their assault against widespread dissent and protests through dubious national security charges against detained activists and grossly unfair trials, Human Rights Watch said today. On October 31, 2022, the head of Tehran Province’s judiciary said that it had issued around 1,000 indictments against those arrested related to protests.

On October 29, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Intelligence Organization accused two detained women jourvnalists of participating in a training course from US intelligence-backed entities. The journalists, Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohamadi, had reported on the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini in morality police custody, which sparked widespread protests. The authorities did not publish any evidence to support their allegation.

“Iran’s vicious security apparatus is using every tactic in its book, including lethal force against protesters, arresting and slandering human rights defenders and journalists, and sham trials to crush widespread dissent,” said Tara Sepehri Far, senior Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Yet every new atrocity only reinforces why Iranians are demanding fundamental changes to a corrupt autocracy.”….

https://www.juancole.com/2022/11/thousands-protesters-activists.html