Tehran Police Chief Defends Morality Police Officer in Incident of Beating Young Woman

The head of Tehran's police denied reports about the suspension of a morality police officer who had beaten a young woman, stating, "We firmly defend our officers." On Sunday, April 10, Hossein Rahimi told Tasnim news agency that reports regarding the suspension of the female morality officer "are absolutely false, and we firmly defend our officers." He claimed that "this officer had no fault." Rahimi added, "When one of these girls presents herself in an embarrassing situation in front of our police officer, what should be done? When our officer warns them and they respond with insults and violence against the officer, what should our officer do?" The release of a video showing a young woman being beaten by morality police has sparked widespread protests and criticism from the Iranian Vice President for Legal Affairs and some members of Parliament. Previously, Tayebe Siawoshi, a representative from Tehran, had reported that this officer had been suspended from duty. However, following these remarks, Hossein Ashtari, the police chief, stated on Tuesday, April 4, that the police would not be influenced by "hysteria" and would support those who perform their "legal" duties. Additionally, Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, supported the actions of the morality police, stating that "the police should not retreat even one step... because otherwise, nothing will hold together, and the actions and authority of the police to ensure the country's security will be blocked." On Sunday, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the judiciary spokesman, criticized the release of the video of the girl being beaten, saying, "There are individuals who, in addition to being rebellious, also disseminate and organize it; therefore, rebellion against the police is a crime, and if it is organized, it is worse, and if it spreads, it is even worse." Earlier, Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer, reported in an interview with Radio Farda that a 48-year-old woman named Minou Hassanabadi was also violently arrested for protesting against the beating of a young girl by the morality police, and a legal case was opened against her. Iranian officials have launched a plan called "morality police" years ago to combat what they call the spread of "bad hijab and various Western clothing" in Iran, one of its duties being to confront what they describe as "unconventional" attire. However, according to some judicial and police officials, this controversial plan, which has many opponents, has not been very effective. Among them, the Iranian Minister of Interior has acknowledged that the "severity" applied to hijab after the revolution has not yielded the desired results. In recent days, there have also been reports on social media about the accident and death of an 18-year-old girl in Tabriz due to "police pursuit." However, Ali Ismailpour, the social deputy commander of the police in East Azerbaijan, confirmed the death of a girl in an accident but denied reports of "pursuit" by the morality police. The incident involving the morality police and a young girl occurred about a month after the incident of Maryam Shari'atmandi, one of the protesters against compulsory hijab, being thrown from an electricity post. After throwing Maryam Shari'atmandi from the post, the police officer used vulgar language towards the citizens present at the scene who were protesting his action. Recent public protests against compulsory hijab have provoked strong reactions from conservative clerics and some religious authorities in Qom, and the leader of the Islamic Republic has referred to the protesters against compulsory hijab, known as the girls of Enghelab Street, as "deceived" and described their movement as "humble" and a result of "the massive propaganda of enemies and their exorbitant costs."