400 Protesters Jailed over Tehran Protests

Iranian women protest in New York against executions in their home country. AFP
Iranian women protest in New York against executions in their home country. AFP
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400 Protesters Jailed over Tehran Protests

Iranian women protest in New York against executions in their home country. AFP
Iranian women protest in New York against executions in their home country. AFP

Courts in Tehran have sentenced 400 people to jail terms of up to 10 years over their involvement in protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death, AFP quoted Iran's judiciary as saying Tuesday.

Iran has been gripped by nearly three months of protests -- which officials describe as "riots" -- since the death of Amini after her arrest for an alleged breach of the country's dress code for women.

"In hearings on cases of rioters in Tehran province, 160 people were sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison, 80 people to two to five years and 160 people of up to two years," Tehran's judiciary chief Ali Alghasi-Mehr said, quoted by the judiciary's Mizan Online website.

Tehran has drawn widespread international condemnation after executing two men in the past week in connection with the unrest.

Majidreza Rahnavard and Mohsen Shekari, both 23, were hanged on Monday and Thursday respectively on the charges of "moharebeh.”

Prior to the two executions, Iran's judiciary said it had issued death sentences to 11 people over the protests, but campaigners say around a dozen others face charges that could see them also receive the death penalty.

Since September 16 when the protests broke out, thousands of people have been arrested. Iran's top security body said on December 3 that more than 200 people had been killed in the unrest.



Kremlin Says US Position Ruling Out NATO Membership for Ukraine Gives Satisfaction

Cars drive in front of Moscow's Kremlin along Tverskaya street in Moscow, Russia, 21 March 2025. (EPA)
Cars drive in front of Moscow's Kremlin along Tverskaya street in Moscow, Russia, 21 March 2025. (EPA)
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Kremlin Says US Position Ruling Out NATO Membership for Ukraine Gives Satisfaction

Cars drive in front of Moscow's Kremlin along Tverskaya street in Moscow, Russia, 21 March 2025. (EPA)
Cars drive in front of Moscow's Kremlin along Tverskaya street in Moscow, Russia, 21 March 2025. (EPA)

The Kremlin said on Monday that the position of US President Donald Trump's administration on ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine gave Moscow satisfaction, but declined to comment on Trump's hopes for a deal this week.
US envoy General Keith Kellogg said on Sunday that NATO membership was "off the table" for Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly said previous US support for Ukraine's bid to join NATO was a cause of the war, Reuters said.
"We have heard from Washington at various levels that Ukraine's membership in NATO is excluded," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters." Of course, this is something that causes our satisfaction and coincides with our position."
Peskov said that Ukrainian membership of the US-led alliance would "pose a threat to the national interests of the Russian Federation. And, in fact, this is one of the root causes of this conflict."
Putin has repeatedly said that Russia would be willing to end the war if Ukraine officially dropped its NATO ambitions and withdrew its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia.
Reuters reported in November that
Putin was ready to negotiate a deal with Trump, but would refuse to make major territorial concessions and would insist Kyiv abandon ambitions to join NATO.
Trump said on Sunday he hopes Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Asked about those remarks, Peskov said: "I don't want to make any comments right now, especially about the time frame."
"President Putin and the Russian side remain open to seeking a peaceful settlement. We are continuing to work with the American side and, of course, we hope that this work will yield results," Peskov said.
He refused to comment directly on a Bloomberg report that the United States is prepared to recognise Russian control of Crimea as part of a broader peace agreement.
"Work on finding a peaceful settlement cannot take place, and should not take place, in public," Peskov said. "It should take place in an absolutely discrete mode."