TEHRAN: Iran’s judiciary has ordered police to “firmly punish” people who violate the country’s hijab law, a news agency reported Tuesday, after nearly four months of deadly protests against the measures.
Demonstrations have swept Iran since the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old ethnic Kurd, after her arrest in Tehran for allegedly failing to adhere to the law.
Since the outbreak of the protests, the morality police unit charged with enforcing the hijab rules has been less visible and women have taken to the streets without mandatory headscarves.
But authorities signalled less tolerance since the start of the year, with police warning that women must wear headscarves even in cars.
On Tuesday, Mehr news agency reported that the prosecutor general had issued a directive in which “police were ordered to firmly punish any hijab violations.”
“Courts must sentence the violators, as well as fine them, to additional penalties such as exile, bans on practicing certain professions and closing workplaces,” it quoted the judiciary as saying.
Iran has executed four people over the protests sparked by Amini’s death in the custody of the morality police. Another 13 have been sentenced to death, and six have been granted retrials.
Authorities say hundreds of people, including security personnel, have been killed and thousands arrested in connection with the protests, which they generally describe as “riots.”
In recent weeks the judiciary has closed several cafes and restaurants for serving bare-headed women.
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Iran to ‘firmly punish’ hijab violators: report
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Iran to ‘firmly punish’ hijab violators: report
- Since the outbreak of the protests, the morality police unit charged with enforcing the hijab rules has been less visible
- Authorities say hundreds of people, including security personnel, have been killed and thousands arrested
Outcry as French journalist held for covering Istanbul protest
The French foreign ministry said it hoped Boukandoura would be “freed as quickly as possible,“
Police broke up the protest, arresting 10 people, including Boukandoura
ISTANBUL: A French journalist arrested while covering a pro-Kurdish protest in Istanbul remained in police custody on Tuesday, prompting growing calls for his release, including from France’s government.
Raphael Boukandoura, who works for various French publications, including well-known outlets Liberation and Courrier International, was detained late Monday at a protest over a military operation targeting Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.
Boukandoura has lived legally in Turkiye for at least a decade and holds an official press card.
In a statement to AFP, the French foreign ministry said it hoped Boukandoura would be “freed as quickly as possible,” indicating its diplomats in Turkiye were “closely monitoring the situation.”
At the protest, called by the pro-Kurdish party DEM, party officials called for “an immediate halt to the attacks” and the protection of civilians in northeastern Syria.
Police broke up the protest, arresting 10 people, including Boukandoura.
Two weeks ago, Syrian government troops launched an offensive against Kurdish-led forces — an operation publicly welcomed by Turkiye, despite its own efforts to pursue a peace process with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
According to the rights group MLSA, Boukandoura told police he was present strictly as a journalist and covering the protest for the French daily Liberation.
Erol Onderoglu of media-rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described the detention as “arbitrary.”
“Boukandoura is not a protester, and he cannot be treated as a criminal simply because he is a journalist, he is performing a public service,” he told AFP.
“This grave injustice must be reversed.”
Liberation, along with Courrier International, Mediapart, and Ouest-France — other outlets that have published Boukandoura’s work — all issued statements calling for his immediate release.
France’s National Union of Journalists (SNJ) also urged Turkish authorities to free him, saying he was “simply doing his job.”
“Freedom of information is a fundamental right,” the union said.
Police broke up the protest, arresting 10 people, including Boukandoura
ISTANBUL: A French journalist arrested while covering a pro-Kurdish protest in Istanbul remained in police custody on Tuesday, prompting growing calls for his release, including from France’s government.
Raphael Boukandoura, who works for various French publications, including well-known outlets Liberation and Courrier International, was detained late Monday at a protest over a military operation targeting Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.
Boukandoura has lived legally in Turkiye for at least a decade and holds an official press card.
In a statement to AFP, the French foreign ministry said it hoped Boukandoura would be “freed as quickly as possible,” indicating its diplomats in Turkiye were “closely monitoring the situation.”
At the protest, called by the pro-Kurdish party DEM, party officials called for “an immediate halt to the attacks” and the protection of civilians in northeastern Syria.
Police broke up the protest, arresting 10 people, including Boukandoura.
Two weeks ago, Syrian government troops launched an offensive against Kurdish-led forces — an operation publicly welcomed by Turkiye, despite its own efforts to pursue a peace process with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
According to the rights group MLSA, Boukandoura told police he was present strictly as a journalist and covering the protest for the French daily Liberation.
Erol Onderoglu of media-rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described the detention as “arbitrary.”
“Boukandoura is not a protester, and he cannot be treated as a criminal simply because he is a journalist, he is performing a public service,” he told AFP.
“This grave injustice must be reversed.”
Liberation, along with Courrier International, Mediapart, and Ouest-France — other outlets that have published Boukandoura’s work — all issued statements calling for his immediate release.
France’s National Union of Journalists (SNJ) also urged Turkish authorities to free him, saying he was “simply doing his job.”
“Freedom of information is a fundamental right,” the union said.
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