Iran’s prosecutor general has threatened detained protesters with harsh penalties, accusing them of serious crimes under Islamic law as authorities intensify their response to nationwide unrest.
Mohammad Movahedi-Azad said on Saturday that all detained protesters face the same charge, describing them as mohareb, a term under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code that denotes “enmity against God”.
“The charge against all rioters is the same,” Movahedi-Azad said, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. “Whether those who assisted rioters and terrorists in acts of destruction and attacks on security and public property, or mercenaries who took up arms and created fear and terror among citizens, all offenders in this matter are mohareb.”
Under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, moharebeh is defined as drawing a weapon with the intent to threaten people’s lives, property or honour, or to spread fear in a manner that causes public insecurity. The punishment, at a judge’s discretion, can include execution, crucifixion, amputation of the right hand and left foot, or internal exile.
Movahedi-Azad accused the protesters of “betraying the nation” and “creating insecurity”, and said their cases must be handled “without leniency, mercy or compromise”.
He also rejected any claim by detainees that they had been misled, saying that authorities had previously issued “necessary warnings about the enemy’s objectives”.
In separate remarks, the prosecutor general warned journalists, media activists and social media users to be cautious in their activities, signalling a broader clampdown on dissent and information sharing.
The comments come amid continued protests across Iran and growing concern from human rights groups over the use of severe charges and punishments against demonstrators.
