Tehran: Iran's police announced on Saturday that they have put their plan in place to deal with female offenders of the nation's dress code.
Since a protest movement was started by the death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini, 22, for allegedly violating the dress code last year, more women are refusing to wear headscarves in public.
Action would be taken "from today" for violations in public areas, automobiles, and other "sites where the hijab is occasionally removed," according to a statement posted on the police website on Saturday.
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"In this context, technology will be used for the smart identification of people who break the law," it stated. The police deal with social anomalies within the confines of the law, according to Security Police chief Hassan Mofakhami, who also stated that taking off the hijab is a crime.
"People who break the law are responsible for their actions and should be held accountable for their behaviour," he continued. After Amini's death on September 16, three days after her morality police arrest, a wave of civil unrest swept the Islamic republic.
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As a result of the civil unrest that followed Amini's passing, thousands of people were detained, hundreds died, including security personnel, and four people were put to death. Iran referred to these demonstrations as "riots" that were started by foreigners.
Additionally, Mofakhami warned that companies that allowed their staff to remove their headscarves at work risked closing. A warning would be given in these situations, he said, but "if the warning is repeated, the business closure will be on the agenda." Ahmad-Reza Radan, the police chief, stated last week that those who take off their headscarves will be recognised by sophisticated technology.
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"People who remove their hijab in public places will first be warned and then presented to the courts as a next step," he said. If any passengers disobeyed the dress code, car owners would also get a text warning, and if it happened again, their vehicles would be impounded.
Late in March, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary, declared that "removing the hijab amounts to enmity towards values and people who commit such abnormality will be punished."