The Prosecutor General of Iran Mohammad Jafar Montazeri announced the liquidation of the morality police.
As Al Arabiya writes, according to him, "the organization had nothing to do with the state system."
However, the countryʼs government did not make a decision on liquidation. The New York Times (NYT) writes that government representatives neither denied nor confirmed the statement of the Prosecutor General.
One state TV channel reported that Montazeriʼs comments were taken out of context, while other state media reported that the government is not backing down from the law on the mandatory wearing of the hijab.
The morality police are under the supervision of the Iranian police, not the attorney general. The NYT suggests that the Iranian government may be trying to downplay Montazeriʼs remarks.
The day before, Montazeri said that the countryʼs government is reviewing the law on mandatory wearing of the hijab for women amid two months of protests. This law requires women to cover their bodies with long, loose clothing and their hair with a headscarf or hijab. Currently, it is not clear whether the authorities plan to soften this law.
As Reuters writes, the statements of the Prosecutor General did not satisfy the protesters. They said they would increase pressure on the authorities and organize a three-day strike.
- Mass protests erupted in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for wearing an "improper" hijab. The protests quickly turned into an anti-government uprising. The security forces responded to this with brutal detentions and the use of excessive force.
- Because of this, the EU, Canada and a number of other countries imposed additional sanctions on Iran.
- On December 3, Iranʼs Ministry of Interior officially acknowledged the death of 200 citizens during the protests, but this figure differs from the figures from human rights activists, who report about 460 dead.