Tehran Prosecutor Confirms Arrest of One Protester Against Mandatory Hijab

The Tehran prosecutor confirmed on Wednesday in an interview with ILNA news agency that one person had been arrested and referred to the prosecution office in relation to the case known as the "Girls of Revolution Street." Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi responded to the question about the 500 million toman bail for this individual, stating, "I have no information about the bail. The decisions will be proportional. This action is against Islamic law and regulations and is considered a crime. Displaying sin is a crime." He referred to women known as the "Girls of Revolution Street" who recently removed their headscarves in several locations in Tehran and Isfahan, attached them to a stick, and waved them like a flag while standing on an elevation. In response to the question about how the judiciary would act if this issue continues, he said, "The prosecutor will perform his duties." The Attorney General also referred to the actions of women recently protesting mandatory hijab by removing their headscarves as "minor and insignificant," suggesting that those who engage in such acts are motivated by ignorance and emotional provocation, possibly influenced by external factors. Mohammad Jafar Montazeri added, "These actions have little impact, and anyone who walks in the street without a hijab is committing a crime under the law and can be prosecuted." He called the protest childish and ignorant. According to a report from IRNA on Wednesday (February 1), Montazeri made these statements during a gathering of legal and parliamentary officials of the police force. He emphasized that these actions are minor and that Iranian women, who are defined as modest and chaste, do not allow themselves to engage in such actions. He described the protest as childish, mentioning that a woman suddenly removes her headscarf and some individuals seem to have a mission to film her and share it on social media. The Attorney General of Iran added that he believes these actions are driven by ignorance and emotional provocation influenced by external propaganda. He warned Iranian women that hijab is mandatory in Iran, and those who believe in Islam adhere to it and must comply with the law. Montazeri stated that if someone is without a hijab, it is a crime and should be prosecuted legally, but they believe that individuals should be made aware through warnings. Last month, during recent nationwide protests in Iran, a video surfaced on social media of a young girl in Revolution Street, Tehran, who climbed onto an electrical post and waved her headscarf like a flag. This act was interpreted on social media as opposition to mandatory hijab, and the video and photos gained widespread attention. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activist, wrote on her Facebook page on February 1 that she had followed up on the status of this girl, known as the "Girl of Revolution Street," and had visited the location where the act took place. Sotoudeh noted in her local investigation that this girl was briefly released after her arrest and then re-arrested on the same day. She added that she still does not know the girl's name but has concluded from her investigations that "she has a 19-month-old child and is 31 years old." Shortly after, some social media users identified this woman as Vida Mohadd and shared images of her and her child, although no official reports have confirmed this claim. Shortly after Sotoudeh's announcement regarding the girl's release, images emerged on social media showing at least six others in Tehran and one in Isfahan repeating this act by climbing electrical posts. The response to these girls' actions has been so widespread that the hashtag "Girl_of_Revolution_Street" changed to "Girls_of_Revolution_Street" and became one of the main trends on Twitter. The statements from the Attorney General of Iran mark the first judicial response to this symbolic protest against mandatory hijab in Iran. Previously, the German news agency reported, citing eyewitnesses, that six of the "Girls of Revolution Street" had been arrested. Although no independent source has confirmed or denied this news, the agency reported that these individuals were arrested by law enforcement. Nasrin Sotoudeh, who reported the arrest and imprisonment of the "second Girl of Revolution Street," also stated in an interview with Radio Farda that a bail of 500 million tomans was issued for Narges Hosseini after her arrest, and she has taken on her legal representation. According to the laws of the Islamic Republic, women and girls over the age of 9 are required to wear hijab, or they face imprisonment and fines. According to Article 638 of the Islamic Penal Code, "Women who appear in public without proper hijab will be sentenced to imprisonment from 10 days to 2 months or fined from 50,000 to 500,000 rials." Despite the establishment of morality patrols and harsh confrontations, the authorities have failed to impose complete hijab compliance on Iranian women. The ineffectiveness of such measures has reached a point where the Chief of Police in Greater Tehran announced in August that the police's approach to implementing the "morality patrol" plan would not be coercive and that the basis of their work in addressing "disorder" would be constructive. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi is one of the judicial officials who, in September 2016, stated that it is not possible to assign "agents" to every family and individual in the country and that coercive measures regarding hijab in Iran have been ineffective. Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated on Wednesday in response to the presence of some women without hijab in public places, "There is no obligation for women to wear hijab in society, and many of them appear in public as they wish, so there is no obligation." While making such comments, the Tehran prosecutor confirmed the arrest of one girl for being without a hijab and added that this act is "against Islamic law and regulations and is considered a crime." Motahari continued, "The fact that four people are waving their headscarves is not a significant event. If there is a significant issue, we should ask why the government does not have sufficient oversight in enforcing hijab laws?" He added, "Today's problem in the country is not hijab, and women generally observe hijab, and we do not advocate for strict enforcement."