TEHRAN: Iranian lawmakers passed a bill on Wednesday to toughen penalties for women who flout the Islamic dress code, with jail terms of up to 10 years, state media reported.
The assembly approved “the ‘Support for the Culture of Hijab and Chastity’ bill for a trial period of three years,” the official IRNA news agency reported.
The bill still requires approval by the Guardian Council.
Women in Iran have since last year’s mass protests been increasingly flouting the Islamic republic’s strict dress code that requires head coverings and modest clothes.
The demonstrations broke out after the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly breaching the dress code.
Hundreds of people were killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands arrested over what officials labelled foreign-instigated “riots.”
Under the draft law, women failing to wear a headscarf or appropriate clothing, “in cooperation with foreign or hostile governments, media, groups or organizations,” could face five to 10 years’ prison.
Covering the head and neck has been compulsory for women in Iran since the republic’s early years following the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Authorities and police patrols have in recent months stepped up measures against women and businesses who fail to observe the dress code.
Businesses have been closed over non-compliance and surveillance cameras have been installed in public places to monitor violations.
Iran MPs vote to toughen penalties for women flouting dress code
https://arab.news/8nysm
Iran MPs vote to toughen penalties for women flouting dress code
- ‘Support for the Culture of Hijab and Chastity’ bill approved for a trial period of three years
- The bill still requires approval by the Guardian Council
Syrian government says it controls prison in Raqqa with Daesh-linked detainees
- Prison holds detainees linked to Daesh, and witnessed clashes in its vicinity between advancing Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters
Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Friday it had taken over Al-Aktan prison in the city of Raqqa in northeastern Syria, a facility that was formerly under the control of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The prison has been holding detainees linked to the militant group Daesh, and witnessed clashes in its vicinity this week between advancing Syrian government forces and the SDF.
It was not immediately clear how many Daesh detainees remain in Al-Aktan prison as the US military has started transferring up to 7,000 prisoners linked to the militant Islamist group from Syrian jails to neighboring Iraq. US officials say the detainees are citizens of many countries, including in Europe.
“Specialized teams were formed from the counter-terrorism department and other relevant authorities to take over the tasks of guarding and securing the prison and controlling the security situation inside it,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Under a sweeping integration deal agreed on Sunday, responsibility for prisons housing Daesh detainees was meant to be transferred to the Syrian government.
The SDF said on Monday it was battling Syrian government forces near Al-Aktan and that the seizure of the prison by the government forces “could have serious security repercussions that threaten stability and pave the way for a return to chaos and terrorism.”
The US transfer of Daesh prisoners follows the rapid collapse of Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria. Concerns over prison security intensified after the escape on Tuesday of roughly 200 low-level Daesh fighters from Syria’s Shaddadi prison. Syrian government forces later recaptured many of them.
