15,000 jailed anti-hijab protesters could face death penalty in Iran
Iran's first death sentence over recent anti-hijab protests has raised fears for tens of thousands of people imprisoned during the civil unrest. Saman Yasin, a Kurdish rapper, became the first person to be sentenced to death last week after he expressed support for the protesters. Officials ordered the punishment after the 27-year-old was arrested in October and charged with "waging war against God" for sharing anti-regime sentiment on social media.
Thousands of similar public trials loom on the horizon, raising questions for Iran's approximately 15,000 political prisoners remanded in custody since the protests began.
Iranian authorities have announced plans to try more than 1,000 of those arrested within and outside Tehran.
Speaking last week, Javaid Rehman, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, said punishments could include additional death penalty sentences.
Mr Rehman said: "In another most disturbing development, Iranian authorities have announced earlier this week that they will be holding public trials for over 1,000 arrested persons in Tehran and a similar number outside the capital.
"The charges against these persons will include charges...carrying the death penalty.
"In the absence of any domestic channels of accountability, I would stress the significance of the role and responsibility of the international community in addressing impunity for human right violations in Iran."
Lawmakers within the Iranian parliament have called for protesters to receive increasingly severe punishments.
They recently signed a letter calling for protesters to receive similar treatment to state enemies.
The letter, read on Iran's state Press TV, was signed by 227 of te country's parliamentary assembly.
And it urged officials to treat those on the streets as they would Islamic State operatives.
The lawmakers said: "We, the representatives of this nation, ask all state officials, including the Judiciary, to treat those, who waged war (against the Islamic establishment) and attacked people's life and property like the Daesh, in a way that would serve as a good lesson in the shortest possible time."
While they did not specify the methods requested, the letter added that the state should "prove to all that life, property, security and honor of our dear people is a red line for this (Islamic) establishment, and that it would show no leniency to anybody in this regard."