At Least 20 Cafes Closed in Shiraz Following Recent Youth Gathering

Hrana News Agency – At least 20 cafes in Shiraz have been closed by order of the city’s facilities department. These measures have been taken following a recent gathering of young people in the city.

According to Hrana News Agency citing IRNA, at least 20 cafes in Shiraz have been sealed by order of the city’s facilities department.

Following a recent gathering of youth and a program organized by them titled “International Skateboarding Day” at Shiraz’s municipal convention grounds, which resulted in the arrest of 10 organizers, various officials made different demands to impose greater restrictions in the city. In this regard, the facilities department sealed a number of cafes that had been meeting places for young people in the city.

According to the report, Cafe Abi, Cafe 404, Ben Keto Restaurant, Cafe Genius, and Bookland Shiraz are among the most well-known cafes that have been sealed by order of the city’s facilities department.

One Shiraz cafe owner whose business was sealed without any reasonable justification stated: “One day at 2 p.m. they came and said they would come at midnight to seal it. They came and closed the cafe without any letter or reason. They only announced it was temporarily closed. Now we don’t know when this temporary closure will end.”

Police enforcement actions against young people in the city have increased, and the presence of officers during most hours throughout the city is clearly visible.

According to an informed source cited in this report: “Police are stationed in Qasraldashт and enforcement has become much stricter. In Malali Abad, plainclothes officers are confronting those with improper hijab on sidewalks. Chamran Boulevard is full of police officers.”

This year’s International Skateboarding Day became a turning point in intensifying restrictions in Shiraz and several other Iranian cities. Officials from every department and organization who thought their work scope and responsibilities had any connection to the youth gathering in Shiraz distanced themselves from the young Shirazis’ action in those initial hours.

In the first action, the head of the Farsi Province Skateboarding Federation was dismissed. The Farsi Province General Department of Sports and Youth also issued a statement addressing Shiraz residents, claiming: “The general department and the Shiraz department of sports and youth had no permission, participation, or cooperation at any level with the founders and organizers of this gathering.”

The Shiraz Municipality also issued a statement denying any issuance of permits to invite citizens to gather at the skateboarders’ gathering. The Shiraz Governor described this action as “pre-planned” and the Chief Justice of Farsi Province issued an order to deal with the organizers of this gathering.

Also, the representative from Khomeinishahr called for action against the young people who participated in the gathering in Shiraz days earlier and said: “Both legally and religiously, we have explicit laws in this regard, and justifications of this sort that these gatherings had permission cannot deny necessary action.”

Mohammad Taghi Naghadeli also, in response to whether arresting young people is problematic, said: “It is completely unproblematic. If we must look at the perspective of foreigners, counter-revolutionaries, and foreign media for every legal action and protection and safeguarding of society’s dignity and morality, we must retreat from the frameworks of the Islamic Revolution.”

Days later, an image was circulated in cyberspace showing a number of men and women at the skateboarding gathering site performing “fear prayer.” To date, no official source has confirmed or denied the photo. In this regard, the government news agency reported on a gathering and march of “supporters of the sanctity of modesty, honor, and hijab” in Shiraz due to what it described as “wounding the feelings of the religious.” This march took place after Friday prayers.

A wave of concerns has also reached Shiraz’s women’s salons. The manager of a women’s salon in Farhangshar, Shiraz, stated: “The atmosphere has become so heavy that we fearfully give appointments to customers. We cannot ask customers to be mindful of their dress when going out; they get upset. But at any moment a facilities officer might come with a seal stamp to close the salon.”

She added: “I always go out on the street wearing a coat. My clothes are completely covered. But since I saw so many officers on the street last night, I’ve been very upset. When a person sees these things, they become so angry that they might show a reaction. Are you saying fear prayers for young people? Are you not saying that they think this is unfit and become disillusioned?”

It should be noted that since the mentioned date, the number of arrests and text messages about vehicle impoundment due to hijab violations have also increased. The emphasis of judicial officials on dealing with the “perpetrators” of the eightieth decade gathering in Shiraz also indicates that there is hope for an end to these restrictions, at least in the near future.