Police Threaten Long-Term Imprisonment for Protesters Against Mandatory Hijab

One day after the police threatened that protesters against mandatory hijab could face imprisonment for one to ten years, Human Rights Watch urged Iranian officials to "stop prosecuting women for peacefully protesting against the mandatory hijab laws in Iran." Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the Middle East division of Human Rights Watch, stated on Saturday, March 5, that "Iranian officials have imposed mandatory dress codes on women for decades, violating their basic freedoms and depriving anyone who refuses access to economic and social opportunities." She added, "Now that women are peacefully protesting the dress code, officials are extending their negative record by arresting them." The women's protest against mandatory hijab, which includes removing headscarves in public and hanging them on sticks, continues, and several women have been arrested in recent days. Meanwhile, according to ILNA news agency, the police announced on Friday, January 24, that the law provides for up to two months of imprisonment for being in public without a hijab. The announcement stated that "encouraging people not to wear hijab falls under the second clause of Article 639 of the Islamic Penal Code, which carries a prison sentence of one to ten years and is not convertible to an alternative punishment." The provisions of the Islamic Penal Code cited by the police relate to "encouraging corruption and prostitution," and there is no phrase in this law titled "encouraging not to wear hijab." According to Article 639 of the Islamic Penal Code, "Anyone who establishes or manages a center for corruption or prostitution" or "encourages people to corruption or prostitution or facilitates it" can be sentenced to one to ten years in prison. According to Clause 2 of Article 638 of this law, the punishment for women who appear in public without a proper hijab is imprisonment for 10 days to two months or a fine ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 rials, meaning the court can sentence the accused to one of two punishments: imprisonment for a maximum of two months or a fine of up to 50,000 tomans. Meanwhile, some legal experts have previously stated that the actions of protesters against mandatory hijab fall under Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code, not other articles. However, Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer, has reported that the prosecutor's office has charged Narges Hosseini, known as "the second girl of Enghelab Street," under Article 639 of the Islamic Penal Code with "encouraging corruption." According to Ms. Sotoudeh, "failure to observe the proper hijab" and "pretending to commit a forbidden act" are two other charges against Narges Hosseini. Reports indicate that her court session is scheduled for Saturday morning. The police announcement has also sparked reactions on social media. Among them, Ali Mojtahedzadeh, a lawyer, wrote on Twitter that the police's statement "lacks legal validity." He emphasized that this force is "merely an agent and obedient to the judicial authority and has no right to interpret the law." In recent days, several women protesting against mandatory hijab have been arrested. One of them is Shaparak Shajari Zadeh, who was arrested on Wednesday after protesting against mandatory hijab on Qeytarieh Street and, according to her family, was beaten while in custody. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights defender representing Ms. Shajari Zadeh, confirmed these incidents in an interview with Radio Farda on Thursday, warning about the violence against these women. On Thursday, a video was also released showing a woman protesting against mandatory hijab, in which a police officer throws a woman who protested against the mandatory hijab off a platform she was standing on. This woman has been identified as Maryam Shari'atmadari, and reports indicate that her leg is broken. Previously, the U.S. State Department issued a statement declaring that the United States supports the protests of Iranian women and men against mandatory hijab. Public protests against mandatory hijab began in December with the release of a video showing a young woman publicly protesting against mandatory hijab on Enghelab Street. This woman has been identified on social media as Vida Mohaghegh.