[Cyprus Times] Reversal? State media deny the abolition of the vice police in Iran

Iran's state media note that Western media misinterpreted the statements of the country's prosecutor general.

Contradictory is the information coming from Iran regarding the abolition or not of the notorious vice police.

As the Independent reports, Iran's state media are denying reports that the regime is abolishing the vice police tasked with enforcing a strict dress code following angry protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsha Amini, who was arrested for not "properly wearing" her hijab.

• Historic decision in Iran. Vice police abolished

Such a concession, stresses the British media, would mark a major victory for protesters demanding greater freedoms for women and posing the biggest threat to the regime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

How the mix-up happened

However, the proposal to abolish the morality police comes from Western reports following comments by the country's attorney general and has not been confirmed by the interior ministry, which controls the force formally known as Gasht-e Ershad.

Asked by a reporter at a religious conference this weekend why the guidance patrol was stopped, Isna news agency reported Mohammad Jafar Montazeri as saying: "The guidance patrol has nothing to do with the judiciary and was stopped by the same authority that established it in the past."

"Of course, the judiciary continues to monitor community-level behaviors," he added.

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Protesters and journalists reacted with skepticism as to the significance of the remarks, pointing to the fact that a state broadcaster has since denied that the morality police are being abolished and that the force has largely halted its patrols since the start of mass protests 70 days ago.

Some Iranians have called the news "propaganda" that only serves the regime, with hundreds of civilians having lost their lives and thousands arrested by security forces in recent weeks, regardless of the inaction of the morality police.

Ambiguous statements

"Iran's attorney general has made some ambiguous statements that could potentially be interpreted as the end of the vice police, but may also suggest that the judiciary wants to distance itself from the institution. Statements reported in the press do not amount to a change of policy," The Independent's international correspondent Borzu Darragahi said on Twitter."

Iran's attorney general has made some ambiguous statements that could possibly be construed as an end to the morality police, but may also suggest that judiciary wants to disassociate itself from the institution."

Iran's attorney general has made some ambiguous statements that could possibly be construed as an end to the morality police, but may also suggest that judiciary wants to disassociate itself from the institution. Statements cited in press do not equal a change in policy.

- Borzou Daragahi ?? (@borzou) December 4, 2022

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He then added: "In the more than 20 years I've been covering Iran, nothing has ever been clear and unambiguous. A meandering report from a second-tier official means almost nothing. There has been no statement from the Supreme National Security Council. There has been no report from the Majlis. There has been nothing from the president."

The Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinezad also wrote: "The abolition of the vice police in Iran is misinformation, but it shows the regime's fear."

State broadcaster Al Alam said that foreign media portrayed the attorney general's comments as a "retreat on the part of the Islamic Republic from its stance on hijab and religious morality as a result of the protests," but all that can be understood from his comments is that the vice police are not directly related to the judiciary.

Since when have the vice police

The force was set up by Iran's Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution at the beginning of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's eight-year rule and began patrolling in 2006 to "spread the culture of modesty and hijab", which became compulsory in 1983.

However, mass protests have swept the country since mid-September, with many women taking the extraordinary step of risking arrest by removing their hijabs in public - and then burning them - while calling for an end to Tehran's "clerical dictatorship", as the Independent calls the Iranian regime.

Hundreds dead

At least 470 protesters have been killed by security forces, 64 of whom are under 18, while more than 18,200 people have been arrested, Hrana news agency reports. In the first official acknowledgement of such an account, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that more than 300 people had died.

While a significant concession, the dismantling of the vice police alone would fall far short of citizens' demands for an end to the Islamic Republic, the British media argues.

"Just because the government has decided to disband the vice police doesn't mean the protests are over," an Iranian woman told the BBC World Service."

"Even the government saying that the hijab is a personal choice is not enough. People know that Iran has no future with this government in power. We will see more people from different sides of Iranian society, moderates and traditionalists, coming out in favour of women to get back more of their rights," he added.

Source: in.gr

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