L’Iran has ceased the activities of moral police, which controlled people’s clothing and in particular arrested women who did not cover themselves according to the codes dictated by the Islamic Republic regime. This was announced by the country’s Attorney General. Mohamad Jafar Montazerispoke in Qom at a meeting with the clergy.
This police force, created in 2006 under the name of Gasht-e Ershad, “has nothing to do with the judiciary, it was abolished by the one who created it”, Montazeri specified, answering a question as to why the morality police no longer operate , wrote the semi-official news agency Isna. Some analysts see the announcement as a victory for the protest movement, while others say the decision was limited and made too late.
There is no other confirmation that the vice police have been completely abolished, a decision expected to be announced by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, its governing body. Montazeri also didn’t say the morale police were being torn down indefinitely. However, the Parliament and Council of the Cultural Revolution are discussing the compulsory hijab: in two weeks they will announce their decisions, and there could be changes in the way the law is applied and enforced.
The prosecutor himself – reports Radio Farda – acknowledged that the Iranian judicial system is not openly pursuing the dissolution of these “social security police”, but recent incidents surrounding the protests have prompted the security apparatus to “seek a prudent solution to this problem”.
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Montazeri stated that the judiciary will continue to monitor behavior at the community level, stressing that women’s clothing remains very important, especially in the holy city of Qom. The improper wearing of the hijab (Islamic headscarf) “especially in the holy city of Qom is a major concern of the judiciary and of our revolutionary society, but it should be noted that legal action is a last resort and cultural action precedes any other”.
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The announcement of the police ban on morality in Iran “would, if it were true, be a first major victory for the protest movement that has been going on since September. This is the immediate comment made by Riccardo Noury, spokesman for Amnesty International Italy, on the Iranian authorities’ announcement. “If it were true, it would be the protest movement’s first victory. If it were true because we have to see if this announcement is implemented and it certainly comes after more than 400 deaths. But it is said that it is not enough for the protest movement to move forward. In the meantime. If so, that’s a great first sign.”