Iran judiciary chief vows fast trials for suspects arrested over protests

PARIS, Jan 14: Iran's judiciary chief vowed fast-track trials for suspects arrested over a wave of protests which the authorities have dismissed as "riots", state television said Wednesday.

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

Iranian news agencies also quoted him as saying the trials should be held "in public" and said he had 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.
AFP Adds, The nationwide shutdown of the internet by authorities in Iran, which activists fear is aimed at masking the true scale of a crackdown on protests, has now lasted over 132 hours, a monitor said Wednesday.

"Metrics show #Iran remains offline as the country wakes to another day of digital darkness," said Netblocks in a post on X. �"AFP