Iran Abolishes Morality Police

Iran has abolished its morality police in the wake of protests about the death of Mahsa Amini at their hands. The Jerusalem Post has more.

Iran has abolished its morality police, AFP reported citing Iran’s Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri.
This comes after the ongoing protests erupted across the country about the death of Mahsa Amini two months ago, who was arrested by Iranian morality police for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women.

The morality police, also known as the Guidance Patrol, were founded in 2005 under the administration of president Mahmoud Ahmadinijad and serve as a religious police, reporting directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamennei.

The typical unit consists of a van with a mixed male and female crew that patrols or waits at busy public spaces to police behavior and dress considered improper.

In an anonymous interview with the BBC, one officer spoke plainly about his work as a member of the morality police.

“They told us the reason we are working for the morality police units is to protect women,” he said. “Because if they do not dress properly, then men could get provoked and harm them.”

“It’s like we are going out for a hunt,” he confessed.

The officer also told the BBC that he found it especially difficult when citizens resisted arrest: “They expect us to force them inside the van. Do you know how many times I was in tears while doing it?

“I want to tell them I am not one of them. Most of us are ordinary soldiers going through our mandatory military service. I feel so bad.”

This is obviously fantastic news. But it does beg the question: when will Britain abolish its own morality police? The Free Speech Union estimates that police forces in England and Wales have investigated and recorded approximately 250,000 Non-Crime Hate Incidents since 2014. In spite of Harry Miller winning his Court of Appeal case, in which the judges ruled the College of Police’s guidance on NCHIs that the police have been following is unlawful, British citizens are still being investigated for committing these non-crimes.