Iranian city shops shut after strike call, amid mixed signals over abolishment of morality cops
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Hundreds have been killed in the unrest since the death of Ms Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the police for flouting hijab rules.
PHOTO: AFP
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DUBAI - Shops in several Iranian cities shut their doors on Monday, following calls for a three-day nationwide general strike from protesters
Iran has been rocked by nationwide unrest following the death of Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini
Ms Amini, 22, was arrested by Iran’s morality police for flouting the strict hijab policy, which requires women to dress modestly and cover their hair.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday that an amusement park at a Teheran shopping centre was closed by the judiciary, as its operators were not wearing the hijab properly.
The reformist-leaning Hammihan newspaper said that morality police had increased their presence in cities outside Teheran, where the force has been less active over recent weeks.
Iran’s public prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri was cited last Saturday by the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency as saying that the morality police had been disbanded. But there was no confirmation from the Interior Ministry, and state media said Mr Montazeri was not responsible for overseeing the force.
Last week, Vice-President for Women’s Affairs Ensieh Khazali said the hijab was part of the Islamic Republic’s general law and that it guaranteed women’s social movement and security.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, when asked about the abolishment of the morality police at a news conference in Belgrade, Serbia, where he was on an official visit, did not deny it, but said: “In Iran, everything is moving forward well in the framework of democracy and freedom.”
Meanwhile, Twitter account 1500tasvir, which is focused on the shop protests and has 380,000 followers, shared videos on Monday of shut stores in key commercial areas, like Teheran’s Bazaar, and other large cities such as Karaj, Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, and Shiraz. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.
The head of Iran’s judiciary, Mr Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, said “rioters” were threatening shopkeepers to close their businesses, and added that they would be swiftly dealt with by the judiciary and security bodies. He also said that protesters condemned to death would soon be executed.
The Revolutionary Guard issued a statement praising the judiciary and calling on it to swiftly and decisively issue a judgment against “defendants accused of crimes against the security of the nation and Islam”.
Security forces would show no mercy towards “rioters, thugs, terrorists”, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the force as saying. Witnesses speaking to Reuters said riot police and the Basij militia had been heavily deployed in central Teheran.
The semi-official Fars news agency confirmed that a jewellery shop belonging to former Iranian football legend Ali Daei was sealed by the authorities, following its decision to close down for the three days of the general strike.
Similar footage by 1500tasvir and other activist accounts was shared of closed shops in smaller cities like Bojnourd, Kerman, Sabzevar, Ilam, Ardabil and Lahijan.
Kurdish Iranian rights group Hengaw also reported that 19 cities had joined the general strike movement in western Iran, where most of the country’s Kurdish population live.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the unrest since the death of Ms Amini. REUTERS
