More than 2,000 protesters detained in Iran, activists say
Protesters
Tehran, Jan. 7, 2026 (dpa/NAN) More than 2,000 people have been detained during the ongoing protests in Iran, according to activists, as the country’s judiciary announced on Wednesday that it would fast-track protesters’ trials.
At least 34 demonstrators have been killed in clashes with the authorities since the protests broke out over a week ago, the U.S.-based human rights network HRANA reported on Wednesday. Two members of the security forces have also been killed, it said.
By Wednesday, the 10th day of protests and strikes, there had been events at some 285 locations across the country, HRANA said.
The reported arrests come after Iran’s judiciary said it will fast-track trials in response to the ongoing wave of protests, according to the Mizan judicial portal.
“To deal swiftly, accurately and comprehensively with the cases of the rioters,’’ special judicial chambers staffed by “experienced judges’’ have been established, Mizan cited Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei as saying.
Employees of judicial agencies have been instructed to be on the streets, if necessary, to gain first-hand knowledge about the demonstrations and observe protests.
The protests were triggered by a shock in Iran’s foreign exchange market, which prompted angry traders in Tehran to take to the streets.
The demonstrations quickly turned into political protests, which the authorities are pursuing with force.
The largest protests to date have taken place in the western provinces.
In the past two days, fewer people initially took to the streets than on Saturday and Sunday, the Critical Threats Project (CTP) reported. CTP is part of the Institute for the Study of War and the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
Nevertheless, there were protests again in major cities against the government and the authoritarian system of rule on Wednesday, HRANA reported. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
HLM/YEE
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(Edited by Hadiza Mohammed/Emmanuel Yashim)