BEIRUT: Forty foreigners are among the hundreds arrested by the Iranian regime and accused of crimes connected to the months-long nationwide protests in the country, Iranian judiciary spokesperson Masoud Setayeshi told state news agency IRNA on Tuesday. The spokesperson said those arrested are facing charges including espionage and will face trial conducted under Islamic criminal law. A total of 1,118 protesters in Iran have been indicted on allegations of endangering national security, Setayeshi said. At least six protesters have been sentenced to death so far. The Iranian official said those sentenced could appeal. Protests in Iran have reportedly grown increasingly violent in recent days. Since protests began in mid-September, more than 300 demonstrators across Iran have died, including more than 40 children, according to the UN Human Rights Office. Other human rights activists place the number of dead at over 430 and say around 17,500 protesters have been arrested. According to Iranian government sources, members of the state security forces have died as well. The nationwide protests were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman. She died in police custody on September 16 after being arrested by Iran’s so-called morality police for violating stirct Islamic dress codes. (DPA)
