Zürcher Nachrichten - Forced confession fears as Iran chief justice interrogates protesters

On Thursday, state television showed Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, who has spent his career at the heart of the Islamic republic's legal apparatus and has been sanctioned by both the European Union and United States, quizzing several people the authorities accuse of being "rioters".

It aired footage of the former intelligence minister and top Tehran prosecutor interrogating two detained women, their faces blurred, both of whom broke down in tears while questioned.

The day earlier, he had spent five hours inside one of the prisons of Tehran to examine the cases of prisoners arrested in the protests, state television said, showing him interrogating some detainees.

According to rights groups, state television has broadcast dozens such "confessions" of individuals accused of attacks on security forces and other acts of violence in the demonstrations.

"State media began airing the forced confessions of protesters within days of the outbreak of protests," said Norway-based Iran Human Rights.

"Confessions that were obtained under coercion and torture being aired prior to legal proceedings violate the right of defendants to be presumed innocent until proven guilty," it added.

In another example, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said two teenage girls arrested in the central city of Isfahan were shown in "forced confessions" saying they received money from an individual to participate in street protests.

The use of such alleged admissions comes against the backdrop of a crackdown that rights group say has left thousands dead in rallies that have openly challenged the authority of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

- 'Work quickly' -

In the latest footage, Ejei was shown seated in a room flanked by other officials, beneath a double picture of Khamenei and revolutionary founder Ruhollah Khomeini. The detainee sat in a chair opposite.

One woman, accused of sending a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said: "I've done something that even I can’t forgive myself for."

"For what... to who," pressed Ejei, speaking softly while clasping his hands.

Another woman is accused of dropping concrete blocks on security forces in Tehran from a balcony.

"I don't know what happened, why I did something so foolish," she said, after Ejei pressed her by asking, "What was the day?" and "How did you know they were officers?"

No further evidence of their alleged involvement was shown.

US-based group United Against Nuclear Iran in 2024 described Ejei, who has vowed fast-track trials for those arrested, as a "ruthless enforcer of the Islamic republic with no regard for human rights".

Opposition groups also accuse him of involvement in the 1988 mass execution of political prisoners in the Islamic republic.

Media freedom NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has said he has "journalists' blood on his hands", recalling that Ejei in 2004 even bit a journalist on the shoulder during a debate.

"If a person burned someone, beheaded someone and set them on fire then we must do our work quickly," Ejei said on Wednesday.

With any delays, "it wouldn't have the same effect," he said.

G.Kuhn--NZN