Ejei demands faster handling of "collaboration with the enemy" cases

Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, head of the Islamic Republic's judiciary, demanded on Saturday 31 October 2026 that the cases of people he calls "spies and elements aligned and cooperating with the enemy" be settled "as fast as possible". The order comes as revolutionary courts have in recent weeks handed down death sentences to several detainees of the Dey uprising.

Ejei called these people "traitors to the homeland" and said they must be dealt with "with complete decisiveness" and "deterrent speed" so that, in his words, no opening is left for their activity. On 30 April he had already demanded that cases of collaboration with the United States and Israel be handled "exceptionally and specially", outside normal procedure.

The scale of the cases

Ali Kazemi, the judiciary's spokesman, said in September–October that at least 1,895 people face cases on charges of collaborating with Israel or "hostile countries", 94 of them media workers. The Islamic Republic's police announced the arrest of at least 21,000 people after the 12-day war of June 2025, and at least 50,000 people were arrested during the Dey 1404 uprising (December 2025–January 2026).

Iran Human Rights recorded 16 executions on espionage charges and 33 protest-related executions from January to September 2026. Amnesty International counted at least 34 protest-related executions in 2026 up to 13 October. These organisations have repeatedly warned that hasty revolutionary court trials are held without access to an independent lawyer and on the basis of forced confessions.

The "collaboration with the enemy" charge against opponents

During the months of war, the Islamic Republic has used the "collaboration with the enemy" charge against protesters, journalists and people who speak to independent Persian-language media outside the country. The case of Amirsalar Davoudi, lawyer for one of the executed, is an example of the pressure on the lawyers in these same cases.

The head of the Islamic Republic's judiciary put speed ahead of fair trials, an order that raises the risk of execution for political prisoners.