Iran’s judiciary has begun handing out sentences for those arrested in the ongoing protests that began mid-September. According to numerous sources, thousands of protesters have been arrested and the judiciary has sentenced one individual to death.

According to Tasnim News Agency, the sentences were handed out after judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei asked for a “firm” response to those arrested in what the authorities have called “riots.” The individual sentenced to death was charged with setting a government building on fire. The charges ranged from “corruption on earth” to “disrupting public order.” 

Others sentenced in the protests were charged with taking actions against national security and disrupting public order. The sentences ranged from five to 10 years in prison. The article said that the individuals' names have not yet been released because they still have the opportunity to appeal the verdicts.   

The protests began after a young woman was detained by the morality police for a loose hijab. She died in custody, which sparked anger not just at an unpopular law but against the entire government itself. A noticeable difference in the protests, according to many observers in Iran, is that police have refrained from apprehending women with no hijab at all. Many social media accounts show women casually walking around with their scarves around their shoulders in busy Tehran streets. Interestingly, the site has become so normal the other individuals on the street do not seem to care or even notice.