Iran denies abolishing morality police, reportedly destroys female athlete's family home because she competed without headscarf



Just a day after reports came out across the world that Iran was scrapping its "morality police," responsible for enforcing certain tenets of Sharia law, such as the country's hijab policy, Iranian state media is denying the force is being disbanded.

Now, after Iranian Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri claimed, "Morality police have nothing to do with the judiciary," Iran's state broadcaster claims those comments were misinterpreted and that the morality police continue to operate.

Despite the attorney general being quoted as saying the morality police had been "abolished from the same place it was launched," state television Al-Alam says that the only thing that can be confirmed from the comments is that the judiciary system operates as a separate entity from the morality police.

The broadcaster appeared to mockingly claim that "foreign media" had simply misinterpreted Iran as "retreating" from the issue of the "hijab" and "modesty." As CNN reports, the newscast went on to say that "no official of the Islamic Republic of Iran has said that the Guidance Patrol has been shut” and that the idea that the force was shut down "due to the recent riots” is false.

Iran has seen large-scale protests lately, following international outcry over Mahsa Amini, a woman who died in state custody in September. As a result, over 14,000 protesters have been arrested, with authorities even threatening the lives of soccer players' families over athlete protests at the World Cup.

This comes in wake of the Iranian state destroying the villa belonging to the family of a female rock climber who competed in a tournament abroad without wearing a headscarf. As reported by the Daily Mail, Elnaz Rekabi and her brother were both reportedly arrested upon the rock climber's return to Iran after she competed in South Korea in the women's boulder finals of the Asian Championships of the International Federation of Sport Climbing in Seoul.

\u201cRemember Elnaz Rekabi? Iranian rock climber who bravely took her Hijab off in a competition in South Korea. \n\nThe regime in Iran has now destroyed her brother\u2019s cottage.\u201d
— Bahman Kalbasi (@Bahman Kalbasi) 1669921989

However, also according the Daily Mail, local media outlet Tasnim News reports that the house was actually demolished by Iranian authorities before the competition for having the incorrect construction permit, not an act of retaliation. Rekabi had previously claimed her competing without a hijab was unintentional, posting an apology video online.

Rekabi wore a black baseball hat and a hoodie that covered her hair as she answered questions from reporters at the airport, despite competing in just a headband in South Korea.


\u201cThis is the real news in Iran;\nAmusement centre in Tehran was closed yesterday after this photo of its employee without hijab went viral on social media.\nTehran\u2019s prosecution has opened a case against her.\nMorality police hasn\u2019t been abolished. It was an absolute lie.\n#MahsaAmini\u201d
— Masih Alinejad \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f (@Masih Alinejad \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f) 1670239313

'Death to the dictator': Iranian people protest after woman, 22, dies following arrest for breaking hijab law



Protests have erupted in Iran after a young woman died following her arrest by police. Iranian police reportedly issued a statement Monday calling the woman's death an "unfortunate incident" and denied accusations that she was mistreated by authorities, which have provoked widespread demonstrations against the Islamic regime.

The 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, fell into a coma and died after she was arrested by morality police last week, which led to protests in Tehran and the Kurdistan province from which she came, Reuters reported.

Amini was reportedly detained for allegedly violating the country's strict hijab rules, which require women to wear a hair covering and loose clothing over their arms and legs. Witnesses accused police officers of beating her, but Police Brig-Gen Hossein Rahimi denied the allegations, according to the BBC.

Police claimed she suffered "sudden heart failure" while awaiting transport to a facility to be "educated." They released video showing a woman they identified as Amini talking with a female official, who grabs her clothing. The woman then raised her hands to her head and collapsed, the BBC reported.

"This incident was unfortunate for us and we wish to never witness such incidents," Rahimi told the Fars news agency.

However, the woman's father on Sunday reportedly told a pro-reform website Emtedad News that his daughter had no health problems and that she suffered bruises on her legs. He blamed the police for her death.

The incident has led to widespread public outcry in Iran and on social media. The Persian hashtag #MahsaAmini has reached nearly 2 million Twitter mentions since last week, along with anti-government slogans, Reuters reported. Iranian women have posted videos on social media showing them cutting their hair and burning their hijabs to protest the regime.

"From the age of 7 if we don’t cover our hair we won’t be able to go to school or get a job. We are fed up with this gender apartheid regime," Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad tweeted on Sunday.

\u201cIranian women show their anger by cutting their hair and burning their hijab to protest against the killing of #Mahsa_Amini by hijab police.\nFrom the age of 7 if we don\u2019t cover our hair we won\u2019t be able to go to school or get a job. We are fed up with this gender apartheid regime\u201d
— Masih Alinejad \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f (@Masih Alinejad \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f) 1663504953
\u201cThis video brought tears to my eyes.\nWomen & men burning compulsory hijab in the streets of Tehran where #MahsaAmini was beaten up to death by hijab police.\nThe woman who took the video says; our dream comes true Finally we are burning the symbol of our oppression in the street.\u201d
— Masih Alinejad \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f (@Masih Alinejad \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f) 1663606507

Protests reportedly began on Saturday during Amini's funeral in Saqqez, the capital city of the Kurdistan Province. Social media videos show women chanting against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and removing their hijabs.

The Iranian government has reportedly used violence against the protesters. Alinejad shared in another tweet that Iranian Security Forces allegedly opened fire on peaceful protesters in Saqqez. She posted video that shows a man lying on the ground and bleeding before he's carried away to what appears to be a medical facility.

*Graphic Content Warning*

\u201cThis is the real Iran, Security forces in Iran\u2019s Saqqez opened fire at peaceful protesters following the burial of #Mahsa_Amini.\nSeveral protesters have been injured.\nFirst Hijab police killed a 22 Yr old girl and now using guns and tear gas against grieving people.\n#\u0645\u0647\u0633\u0627_\u0627\u0645\u06cc\u0646\u06cc\u201d
— Masih Alinejad \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f (@Masih Alinejad \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f) 1663418327

Other videos from Iranian journalists show what is reported to be police in Tehran beating protesters.

\u201cIran security forces beating protesters in central Tehran (Keshvarz Boulevard) amid protests over death of #Mahsa_Amini (Jina), 19Sep. Protests are near detention centre where she was held before slipping into coma, dying. (Source @masoudkazemi81) #\u0645\u0647\u0633\u0627_\u0627\u0645\u06cc\u0646\u06cc\u201d
— Khosro Kalbasi (@Khosro Kalbasi) 1663595790

And protesters have been filmed throwing rocks at a police water cannon truck, as well as attempting to flip over police vehicles.

\u201c#Iran\nProtesters trying to flip a police car in #Tehran's Vali Asr square earlier today while throwing stones at others. At least 4 police vehicles, including the water cannon truck, are seen in the video.\n#Mahsa_Amini\u201d
— MAYSAM BIZ\u00c6R \u0645\u06cc\u062b\u0645 \u0628\u06cc\u200c\u0632\u0631 (@MAYSAM BIZ\u00c6R \u0645\u06cc\u062b\u0645 \u0628\u06cc\u200c\u0632\u0631) 1663599696
\u201cProtestors throw rocks at a water cannon truck in Iran. \n\nYou can hear a woman scream \u201cbi sharaf,\u201d loudly over and over again.\n\nBi sharaf is a top-level insult in Persian. It means someone without any dignity, honor, and shame. \nhttps://t.co/HjIsSUsl8K\u201d
— Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18 (@Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18) 1663602999

Crowds in the Kurdistan province took to the streets over the weekend chanting, "death to the dictator," according to BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh.

\u201cIn Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, an even larger crowd than last night has taken to the streets over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, following her arrest by Iran's morality police.\n\nProtesters in Ferdowsi Street chant "death to the dictator" .\nhttps://t.co/gtgVj4pKTz\u201d
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan Sardarizadeh) 1663336872

Amini's death could escalate tensions between the Iranian regime and the country's Kurdish minority, which numbers eight to 10 million people. According to Reuters, Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers have used violence to suppress unrest in Kurdish areas of the country for decades.

"If history is any guide, Iranian government security forces will soon begin mowing down protestors in the street," Iranian-American journalist Yashar Ali observed on Monday.

\u201cIf history is any guide, Iranian government security forces will soon begin mowing down protestors in the street.\n\nThe best thing you can do is to keep this story alive.\n\nIranians may be silenced by their government, but that does not mean the world has to be silent.\n\n#MahsaAmini\u201d
— Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18 (@Yashar Ali \ud83d\udc18) 1663606821


"The best thing you can do is to keep this story alive," he tweeted. "Iranians may be silenced by their government, but that does not mean the world has to be silent."

Iran executes champion wrestler despite pleas from President Trump and Dana White to spare his life



An Iranian champion wrestler has been executed despite international outcries and pleas from President Donald Trump and UFC president Dana White to spare his life.

Navid Afkari, a 27-year-old Greco-Roman wrestler, participated in anti-government protests against Iran's Shia theocracy in 2018. Iranian authorities accused Afkari of stabbing a water supply company security guard in the southern city of Shiraz during the civil unrest.

Iranian officials claim that Afkari's mobile phone had been in the area where Hassan Turkman was murdered. Authorities alleged there is surveillance footage of him walking down a street, talking on his phone, near the crime scene. Iranian authorities claimed Afkari stabbed Turkman in the back, over a "personal dispute," without elaborating.

In July, Afkari was convicted of the murder of Turkman, and hit with other charges. A provincial court in Shiraz sentenced Afkari to death for the murder.

The wrestler's brothers Vahid Afkari and Habib Afkari were sentenced to 54 and 27 years in prison, respectively, as well as 74 lashes for each man. The Afkari brothers were charged with 20 different crimes, including "attending illegal gatherings, assembly and conspiracy to commit crimes against national security and insulting the supreme leader." Iran's Supreme Court rejected a review of the case in late August.

Iran's @Khamenei_fa must immediately reveal the fate & whereabouts of Navid Afkari & his brothers. They were moved… https://t.co/CzVogxQbXS
— Amnesty Iran (@Amnesty Iran)1599842453.0

Iran broadcast the wrestler's confession on state TV last week. The mother of the brothers, Behieh Namjou, claimed that the three men confessed to the killing under torture. She pleaded for mercy from authorities for her children.

Afkari's death sentence caused international outcry for the wrestler to be spared from the death penalty.

"These brothers are the latest victims of Iran's deeply flawed criminal justice system, and their case is further evidence that Iranian courts systematically rely on 'confessions' obtained under torture and other ill-treatment to secure criminal convictions, in contravention of international law," said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"Amnesty International is calling on the international community, including UN human rights bodies and EU member states, to urgently intervene and demand the Iranian authorities immediately reveal the fate and whereabouts of these three brothers and to save Navid Afkari from execution," Eltahawy said on Friday.

Iranian actress and human rights defender Nazanin Boniadi brought awareness to Afkari's case.

Champion wrestler #NavidAfkari has been sentenced to death for participating in anti-government protests in Iran. T… https://t.co/GC7S0EiKE5
— Nazanin Boniadi (@Nazanin Boniadi)1598688878.0

UFC president Dana White wrote, "Iran, please spare Navid Afkari."

"This week the New York Times wrote a story about a very famous wrestler from Iran – his name is Navid Afkari," White says in the video. "He went to a peaceful protest in Iran, and he is gonna be executed for that."

"It was brought to my attention. This guys is – first of all he is human being," White continued. "Number two he is one of us, could be any of my fighters."

"The only I thing I thought to do is to call the President [Donald Trump] and see if he could help this man," White revealed. "He said 'let us look into it, we'll talk to my administration and see if there is something we can do to save his life'."

Iran, please spare Navi’s Afkarai 🙏🏻 #SaveNavid https://t.co/HMeZA1yFup
— danawhite (@danawhite)1599182293.0

President Donald Trump pleaded for Iran to not execute Afkari.

"Hearing that Iran is looking to execute a great and popular wrestling star, 27-year-old Navid Afkarai, whose sole act was an anti-government demonstration on the streets," President Trump tweeted on Sept. 3. "They were protesting the 'country's worsening economic situation and inflation' To the leaders of Iran, I would greatly appreciate if you would spare this young man's life, and not execute him. Thank you!"

...To the leaders of Iran, I would greatly appreciate if you would spare this young man’s life, and not execute him… https://t.co/89r0Ntdbn7
— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1599167216.0

On Tuesday, a global union representing 85,000 athletes called for Iran's expulsion from international sports competitions if it executed Afkari, according to Reuters.

Navid Afkari was executed on Saturday, according to Iranian state media.

"The retaliation sentence against Navid Afkari, the killer of Hassan Turkman, was carried out this morning in Adelabad prison in Shiraz," said the chief justice of Fars province, Kazem Mousavi, on Iranian state TV on Saturday. Mousavi said the execution occurred "after legal procedures were carried out at the insistence of the parents and the family of the victim."

Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad wrote, "In a taped message from inside the prison, Navid said: 'If I'm hanged, know that an innocent man has been killed.'"

2Every morning Navid’s mother checked the judiciary’s website to see whether he was alive or not. Today he’s not.… https://t.co/D4iM8rVAQ6
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@Masih Alinejad 🏳️)1599911583.0