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Tehran Toughens Stance against Protesters, Judiciary Threatens Capital Punishment

Students of the Faculty of Art at the University of Tehran raise papers demanding the release of detainees (Coordinating Committee of Student Unions)
Students of the Faculty of Art at the University of Tehran raise papers demanding the release of detainees (Coordinating Committee of Student Unions)
    London, Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Tehran Toughens Stance against Protesters, Judiciary Threatens Capital Punishment

Students of the Faculty of Art at the University of Tehran raise papers demanding the release of detainees (Coordinating Committee of Student Unions)
Students of the Faculty of Art at the University of Tehran raise papers demanding the release of detainees (Coordinating Committee of Student Unions)

Iranian officials have sharpened their threats against anti-regime protesters with the country's hardliner Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Ejei announcing on Monday his support for delivering the death penalty against demonstrators.

“The deputy head of the judiciary and the public prosecutor are following up on a daily basis the files of key figures in the recent unrest,” Ejei said on the third day of the eighth week of civil disobedience following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Ejei also vowed to intensify the punishment of those arrested during the protests following a call by the parliament members who have urged the judiciary to issue death sentences for the protesters.

“Whoever carries a firearm or a cold weapon and uses it as an agent of the enemy, threatens the security of the country and raises terror in any region, and at the same time kills a person, retribution (execution) may be carried out against them, and other charges may apply,” said Ejei.

Despite backing calls for serving capital punishment to some protesters, Ejei said that the judiciary will differentiate between demonstrators those who were moved emotionally to participate in the unrest and those who committed crimes and acted on foreign orders.

“The enemies have received a resounding defeat and are trying to carry out harmful actions,” state-run ISNA news agency quoted Ejei as saying.

Later, a court in Tehran convicted three protesters of “war against god.”

The official IRNA news agency stated that the three detainees were brought before the judiciary on charges of sabotaging public funds by setting fire, disrupting public order, assembling, collusion, and carrying out attacks against the regime.

A lawyer for one of the defendants said that his client had burned tires on a highway, which are not considered public money.

Hassan Hassanzadeh, commander of Revolutionary Guards forces in Tehran, threatened to deal with protesters “strictly” on Monday.

He said that the Revolutionary Guards and the police had arrested 14 people they believe are involved in the killing of a prominent member of the Basij forces, west of Tehran.

“The judiciary will deal seriously with those who committed crimes and caused the death of security personnel,” said Hassanzadeh.

“Our security ability to identify and arrest those who stir unrest remains high,” the commander added in an interview with the Revolutionary Guard's affiliated Fars News Agency.

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Israeli Attorney General Orders Probe into Report that Alleged Netanyahu's Wife Harassed Opponents

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara. (AFP)
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Israeli Attorney General Orders Probe into Report that Alleged Netanyahu's Wife Harassed Opponents

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara. (AFP)

Israel’s attorney general has ordered police to open an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife on suspicion of harassing political opponents and a witness in the Israeli leader’s corruption trial.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara made the announcement in a terse message late Thursday, saying the investigation would focus on the findings of a recent report by the “Uvda” investigative program into Sara Netanyahu.

The program uncovered a trove of WhatsApp messages in which Mrs. Netanyahu appears to instruct a former aide to organize protests against political opponents and to intimidate Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial, The AP reported.

The announcement did not mention Mrs. Netanyahu by name, and the Justice Ministry declined further comment.

But in a video released earlier Thursday, Netanyahu listed what he said were the many kind and charitable acts by his wife and blasted the Uvda report as “lies.”

“My opponents on the left and in the media found a new-old target. They mercilessly attack my wife, Sara,” he said. He called the program ”false propaganda, nasty propaganda that brings up lies from the darkness.”

It was the latest in a long line of legal troubles for the Netanyahus — highlighted by the prime minister's ongoing corruption trial. The pair have also had a rocky relationship with the Israeli media.

Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of cases alleging he exchanged favors with powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. Netanyahu denies the charges and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt” by overzealous prosecutors, police and the media.

The report obtained correspondence between Sara Netanyahu and Hanni Bleiweiss, a former aide to the prime minister who died of cancer last year. The messages indicated that Sara Netanyahu, through Bleiweiss, encouraged police to crack down violently on anti-government protesters and ordered Bleiweiss to organize protests against her husband's critics. She also told Bleiweiss to get activists in Netanyahu's Likud party to publish attacks on Klein.

Klein is an aide to billionaire Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan and has testified in the corruption case about her role in delivering tens of thousands of dollars worth of champagne, cigars and gifts to Netanyahu for her boss.

According to the report, Bleiweiss also was instructed to organize demonstrations outside the homes of the lead prosecutor in the corruption case, Liat Ben-Ari, and then Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who had issued the indictments, and protests and social media campaigns smearing political opponents.

According to the report, Bleiweiss was a loyal aid to Netanyahu for decades. But while she was ill, it said Sara Netanyahu mistreated her, prompting her to share the messages with a reporter shortly before her death.

Sara Netanyahu has been accused of abusive behavior toward her personal staff before. This, together with accusations of excessive spending and using public money for her own extravagant personal tastes, has earned her an image as being out of touch with everyday Israelis. In 2019, she was fined for misusing state funds.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees police and has repeatedly said the attorney general, Baharav-Miara should be fired over a series of grievances against her, said the latest announcement was another reason for her to be dismissed.

“Someone who politically persecutes government ministers and their families cannot continue to serve as the attorney general,” he said.

And Justice Minister Yariv Levin, another Netanyahu ally and critic of Baharav-Miara, accused her of focusing on “television gossip.”

“Selective enforcement is a crime!” he said in a statement