First Court Session for Attackers of Saudi Embassy Held

The first trial session for 21 defendants accused of attacking the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran was held on Monday, July 19, behind closed doors, where they were charged with "disturbing public order and destruction." According to the Mizan news agency, the official news agency of the judiciary, the court for the 21 defendants took place in Branch 1060 of the Government Employees Judicial Complex, presided over by Judge Dehghan. The report states that the prosecutor's representative informed the defendants of the charges of "disturbing public order and destruction." Under Iranian law, the punishment for the charge of "disturbing public order" ranges from three months to one year in prison and up to 74 lashes. For the destruction of public property and also the destruction of private property, Iranian law provides for prison sentences and fines. According to Mizan news agency, several defendants defended themselves in the first court session, and court sessions will continue. This news agency did not publish a report on the defendants' defenses and did not mention the date of the next court session. The court session for the 21 defendants comes while Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, had previously announced the issuance of an indictment for 48 defendants in the case of the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran. He also mentioned that the cases of four defendants are being reviewed in a special clerical court. However, the Tehran prosecutor's office had reported in Esfand that an indictment had been issued for 22 individuals in this case. The spokesman for the Iranian judiciary announced on Sunday, June 12, that those attackers whose cases were under the judiciary had been released on bail, but he had no information about the status of those whose cases were in the special clerical court. Following the attack on Saudi diplomatic sites in Tehran and Mashhad last December, which led to the severance of diplomatic relations between the two countries, several individuals, including a cleric named Hassan Kord Mihan, were arrested. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, strongly criticized the labeling of "Hezbollah" individuals as extremists after this attack, stating that "just because an issue like the Saudi embassy and the British embassy arises, which is very bad and harmful to the country and Islam, this should not be used as an excuse to attack believing youth."