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More than 1,200 people arrested since protests began

The protest movement continues unabated and has already claimed the lives of 41 people. It began on 16 September, after the death of a young woman for "wearing inappropriate clothing".

The authorities have arrested 450 new demonstrators in northern Iran, where more than 700 people have already been arrested for taking part in protests against the death of a young woman detained by the morality police, official media reported on Monday.

Protest movement

"During the unrest of recent days, 450 rioters have been arrested in Mazandaran," said the province's attorney general, Mohammad Karimi, quoted by the official Irna agency. On Saturday, the authorities reported that 739 demonstrators had been arrested, including 60 women in Guilan, Mazandaran's neighbouring province in the north of the country.

 

The demonstrations began on 16 September, the date of the death of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested three days earlier in Tehran for "wearing inappropriate clothing" in the Islamic Republic, where the dress code for women is strict, in particular the wearing of the Islamic veil.

The protest movement spread to several cities in the country, where demonstrators shouted anti-government slogans, according to local media. "Over the past few days, rioters have attacked government buildings and damaged public property in some parts of Mazandaran under the direction of foreign agents", he said.

No leniency

On Sunday, the head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejeï, threatened to show "no leniency" towards the demonstrators and called on the security forces to act "firmly" against "those who undermine security".

According to a non-detailed official report, including demonstrators and police, 41 people have been killed in ten days of protests. But the toll could be higher, with the Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) reporting that at least 57 demonstrators have been killed.

On Monday, the Tasnim news agency published around 20 photos of demonstrators, including women, in various streets of Qom, an important Shiite holy city around 150 km south of the capital. The military and security institutions published these images of the "riot leaders" and called on residents to "identify them and inform the authorities", the agency added.

The Taliban ask television channels to stop broadcasting series with women in them

The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has issued "religious directives" to television channels and journalists.

The Taliban Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has called on Afghan television stations to stop broadcasting series featuring women, as part of new "religious directives" broadcast on Sunday. "Television stations must avoid showing soap operas and soap operas in which women have appeared", says a document issued by the ministry to the media.

It also asks them to ensure that female journalists wear "the Islamic veil" on screen, without specifying whether this means a simple headscarf, already usually worn on Afghan television, or a more covering veil. "These are not rules, but religious directives", ministry spokesman Hakif Mohajir told AFP. Afghan television stations are also being urged to avoid programmes "opposed to Islamic and Afghan values", as well as those that insult religion or "show the prophet and his companions". This is the first time the ministry has attempted to regulate Afghan television since the Taliban seized power in mid-August.

Respect for "Islamic values

During their first reign, from 1996 to 2001, the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, responsible for ensuring that the population respected "Islamic values" on a daily basis, was feared for its fundamentalism and the punishments it entailed. The Taliban had banned television, cinema and all forms of entertainment deemed immoral. People caught watching television were punished and their equipment destroyed; possession of a video recorder was punishable by public flogging. For a time, television sets could even be seen hanging from lampposts.

Overthrown in 2001, the Taliban returned to power last August in a country with a transformed media landscape after 20 years of Western-backed government. Over these two decades, the media sector has exploded, with dozens of private radio stations and television channels springing up. They offered new opportunities to women, who were not allowed to work or study under the Taliban in the 1990s. Today, although the Taliban are showing a more moderate face, they have still not allowed many women to return to work in the public services.

Classes for girls in secondary schools and public universities have not yet reopened in most of the country. At private universities, the Taliban have demanded that female students wear veils. Taliban fighters have also on several occasions beaten up journalists accused of covering "unauthorised" demonstrations by women.

Text Le Matin.ch (AFP)
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