Iran's Attorney General Calls Police Violent Attacks on Women 'A Dramatic Act'
After widespread criticism of a police officer's violent treatment of a teenage girl in Tehran's Pars Park, Iran's Attorney General described such issues as "hypocrisy" and called on the police not to "give in to these hypocrisy."
Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of Iran, said on Wednesday, July 3, "The violators of norms should know that they cannot tarnish the image of the police by making these jokes and by preparing and immediately broadcasting videos from the scene themselves."
Not long ago, a video was posted on social media showing a police officer violently taking a girl towards a police car.
Some eyewitnesses said that these people, who were several teenage boys and girls, were "playing with water" in the park when they were confronted by the police.
The violent police response in the film was met with widespread protests on social media. In addition, thirty members of parliament also warned the Minister of Interior about it.
It was also initially announced that the two officers who had attempted to commit violence against the teenage girl had been dismissed and arrested, but shortly afterwards the chief of Tehran police announced that the arrests of these officers had been stopped.
The police's crackdown on those they call "disruptors" has intensified in recent months, with footage showing police brutality and beatings of people. Many of these people are being arrested on the pretext of "improperly wearing the hijab."
In May of this year, the US State Department issued a statement strongly condemning the severe repression of women's rights activists in Iran and calling for an end to the harassment and imprisonment of women who are only demanding their basic and fundamental rights.
Amnesty International also published a report in June of this year, highlighting the role of compulsory hijab in the daily lives of Iranian women and girls, and pointing out the sometimes very violent treatment of women who do not wear a full hijab by moral security police officers.
Source: Voice of America
