The head of Iran’s judiciary said clerics and Basij paramilitary forces were deployed to detention centers during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests in what he said was a move to offer guidance to detainees, including schoolchildren and university students.
"The events of 2022 resulted in approximately 90,000 legal cases,” judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Tuesday. “The defendants and convicts in these cases came from various segments of society. Among them were, in some cases, teachers, school students, and university students.”
He said widespread prosecutions would have allowed "enemies" to exploit the unrest, so the judiciary sought assistance from non-judicial bodies.
“At that point, we sought help from seminaries, the Basij, academics, and teachers. With their presence in detention centers, the majority of those convicted in 2022 were admonished and guided,” Ejei said.
“Criminals who committed violent acts or engaged in organized operations were a separate matter,” he said. “They were dealt with legally and were not included in these measures,” he added.
The 2022 protests erupted after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody following her arrest by Iran’s morality police over alleged hijab violations.
Human rights groups say thousands were detained, including minors, and at least eight people have been executed in connection with the protests.
Galloway traveled to Iran to attend the third edition of the Sobh International Media Festival, organized by the foreign media division of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the country's state media organization.
Organizers awarded him the "Ismail Haniyeh Prize" in recognition of his outspoken defense of Palestine and alignment with Iran-backed resistance groups.
Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, was assassinated by Israel in a bomb blast targeting his residence in Tehran last year.
"No country on the planet has worked harder than the Islamic Republic of Iran to liberate the people of Palestine from bondage, suffering and endless sacrifice. That is simply a fact," said Galloway in his address to the festival.
The former MP, now leader of the Workers Party of Britain, is no stranger to Iranian state media. He previously hosted programs on Iran’s English-language broadcaster Press TV, which is overseen by IRIB and has been sanctioned by Western governments for allegedly spreading propaganda.
Galloway has also appeared on Russian state media and was expelled from the UK Labour Party over remarks it deemed antisemitic.
In his speech, Galloway praised Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a key supporter of the Palestinian people and said Yemen was second only to Iran in providing meaningful support for their struggle.
“I thank the revolutionary people of Iran, your leadership, your heroes, and your martyrs for standing firm in support of the Palestinian people," said Galloway.
Galloway also recounted a personal story about his ties to the Palestinian cause, recalling a humanitarian convoy to Gaza. He said the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh once promised to issue him a Palestinian passport. When none were available, Haniyeh instead gave him his own—a gift Galloway described as “one of my most treasured possessions.”
The Sobh International Media Festival is part of the Iranian government’s broader effort to rally international media voices that support its regional narrative and opposition to Israel.
The event drew dozens of foreign participants, many of whom are affiliated with media outlets sympathetic to Iran’s worldview.