After a week of protests in response to the death of a woman in the custody of Iran's morality police, authorities are now threatening consequences for those who encourage others to join the ongoing demonstrations. 

The head of Iran’s judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, said today, “The rioters should know, those violators on people’s property, those who have become one voice with the enemy and encourage the youth and brought them to the streets, should know that our enemies have sent their agents to attack our people and their property.” Iranian authorities are referring to protestors as rioters in order to justify the harsh crackdown. 

Mohseni-Ejei added that those who encourage the protests will be held responsible for the damages done by the protestors, and those who encouraged the protests will be identified by the security forces. He did not elaborate on what that process would be or what would constitute encouragement. However, the statement is an ominous one — particularly for social media users. 

The protests began after the death of Mahsa Amini a week ago. She was apprehended by Iran’s notorious morality police for violating hijab laws. Video footage released by Iranian authorities shows Amini at a waiting facility, but she later died in custody. The protests started at first against the unpopular law mandating that women wear a hijab but quickly morphed to include condemnations of larger issues, including the entire governmental system and its leaders.