Iran indicts 1,000 over unrest, plans public trials

DUBAI: Iran’s hardline judiciary will hold public trials of about 1,000 people indicted over unrest in Tehran, a semi-official news agency said on Monday, intensifying efforts to crush weeks of protests ignited by Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody.

One of the boldest challenges to Iran’s clerical leaders since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the almost seven-week-old protests have continued despite a deadly crackdown and increasingly severe warnings, with the Revolutionary Guards bluntly telling demonstrators to stay off the streets. In a video, a woman said her 22-year-old son had been handed a death sentence two days ago in an initial court hearing and appealed for help.