Police Reaction to Violence by 'Noor Plan' Officer: Offender Suspended; Women Should 'Comply'

The police information center reacted to a video circulating on social media showing a police officer violently detaining a woman and forcibly putting her into a 'guidance patrol' vehicle. They announced that 'this offending individual' has been arrested and 'is under investigation and has been suspended from duty.' According to Iranian media, the police information center stated, 'We expect the accused [the woman who was violently detained] to comply with the law and the arrest order,' but did not mention the charges against her. In a statement responding to the outrage from users, it was claimed that 'FaraJa has repeatedly emphasized that it does not tolerate any form of unconventional behavior and will deal with offending officers according to regulations.' User reactions were widespread. Leila Mahdavi, the mother of the victim Siavash Mahmoudi, reposted this on her Instagram story, asking, 'Do you hit your own wife and child like that? If that gun wasn't at your waist, could that woman hit you? Did you have the courage to hit?' The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, on April 22, in a speech during the Eid al-Fitr prayer, issued a new command to the 'promoters of virtue,' whom he had previously described as 'fire at will,' asking them to deal with what he called 'religious norm-breaking.' Hours after this order from Ali Khamenei, the police commander announced that the plan to confront women's optional dress would be implemented starting Saturday, April 25. Since that day, the Islamic Republic has deployed its government forces and plainclothes agents in the streets of various cities in Iran, but despite widespread arrests, civil resistance against it continues. The intensification of restrictions regarding mandatory hijab has been met with widespread criticism from human rights organizations. Among them, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also issued a statement in May, referring to the increasing repression of women and girls in Iran due to 'defiance' of mandatory hijab laws, calling for more sanctions against Islamic Republic officials, including security officials. Violence against a woman under the pretext of mandatory hijab; police: 'Accused individuals should comply with the law.' The imposition of mandatory hijab; the Islamic Republic continues to suppress women and girls daily. The 'Chastity and Hijab' bill is on the verge of implementation; defenders of the Islamic Republic admit: Hijab has no support among government officials either.