[Sportschosun Reporter Jang Jong-ho] Claims have emerged that Iran, which recently reached a ceasefire agreement with the United States, has launched a large-scale operation to arrest civilians.
In an interview with local media on the 22nd (local time), Asghar Jahangir, spokesperson for the Judiciary of Iran, said that 3,292 people have so far been investigated or detained on suspicion of cooperating with the enemy. He added that 684 of them are accused of carrying out direct operations for Israel, while 1,258 are under investigation for defaming the state or engaging in political propaganda. He also said that 1,061 indictments have been filed so far.
Jahangir said that the assets of many of those arrested have already been seized. The Judiciary of Iran recently announced that it had confiscated the property of 100 people labeled as so-called 'traitors' in Isfahan Province alone, but it did not disclose their identities or the specific charges.
According to foreign media outlets, including the New York Post, the mass arrests are part of an ongoing crackdown that has continued since anti-government protests earlier this year.
At the time, Iranian authorities carried out large-scale arrests as nationwide protests spread, and they have since expanded their investigations into people suspected of aiding outside forces during airstrikes by the United States and Israel.
International human rights groups say the authorities are using the war as a pretext for a sweeping crackdown on anti-government figures.
Amnesty International said in a recent report that the Iranian government has expanded arbitrary arrests, expedited trials, politically motivated executions, long prison sentences, and property seizures under the justification of a 'wartime situation.'
Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based rights group, said that at least 40 prisoners had been executed on political charges by June 8 this year, including 19 who had taken part in anti-government protests.
Rights groups are calling for sustained international monitoring and action, saying Iranian authorities are suppressing freedom of expression and political dissent in the name of national security.
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
