Show Trials or Forced Confessions

What has become known as Iran’s Stalinist show trials includes a mixture of ordinary citizens arrested in post election protests, well known Iranian dissidents, reformist thinkers, former regime officials during Khatami’s reformist era, journalists and even a French citizen student.

In fact the word ‘show trials’ is not an appropriate way of describing this masquerade for there is no trial taking place. This is purely a public show of individuals who after weeks of physical and psychological tortures as well as threats against their close family members have been forced and coerced into making confessions in court and in front of TV cameras. Even so, the court sessions are not broadcast live and only edited versions are shown and reported on state TV, thus eliminating any
unpredictable instances which do not fit the intended scenario.

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