Iran Charges Dozens More in Another Mass Trial

Iran staged another mass trial of protesters today, charging a Frenchwoman, two employees of the French and British embassies, and dozens of Iranian nationals with spying and fomenting unrest following the election, Reuters reports. Once again, defendants offered confessions and sought leniency. “We deplore these trials and the so-called confessions of prisoners who have been denied their basic human rights,” a British official says. Iranian opposition leaders have also criticized the “show trials.”

The Frenchwoman is charged with “acting against national security by taking part in unrest” and “collecting news and information and sending pictures of the unrest abroad.” An Iranian defendant is accused of having “contacts with American intelligence agents,” and many of those held “attended illegal rallies,” the indictment reads. A reformist website says when relatives gathered in front of the court today, “riot police attacked them to disperse the crowd.” (More Iran stories.)