The judiciary has also announced the formation of special courts to prosecute “traitors and mercenaries.” Parliament has fast-tracked emergency legislation, pending final approval by the Guardian Council, that would expand the use of the death penalty, including for vaguely worded national security charges such as “cooperation with hostile governments” and “espionage.” In late June, the Iranian authorities summoned and interrogated at least 35 members of the Jewish community in Shiraz and Tehran about their ties to relatives in Israel and warned against maintaining contact, according to Human Rights in Iran, an organization based outside Iran. Despite initial state media denials, in late July and early August posts on the Telegram Channel of a Jewish member of parliament, Homayoun Sameyeh Najafabadi, confirmed that members of Iran’s Jewish community were arrested in three provinces and that several were tried before a Revolutionary Court in Tehran on unidentified charges.
Author: Human Rights Watch
Published at: 2025-09-02 23:00:00
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