Iranian activists have called for a strike and a new wave of demonstrations starting this Monday as part of the mobilizations that have been going on for almost three months to denounce the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, arrested by the ‘morality police’ for allegedly wearing the veil incorrectly.
Several activists have published through the social network Twitter the call for protests, which includes avoiding shopping for three days and will have its epicenter in a demonstration on Wednesday in Tehran’s Azadi Square.
The call for the protests comes after Iran’s attorney general, Mohamad Yavad Montazeri, pointed to the possible dissolution of the ‘morality police’, although state media have subsequently qualified the announcement and said that there is no official confirmation.
Montazeri said on Saturday that «the ‘morality police’ has been dismantled by the same people who created it» and added that the judicial apparatus had no control over it, in a message apparently aimed at calming the spirits of the demonstrators after the mobilizations, which have left more than 400 dead, according to various NGOs.
However, the state television channel Al Alam reproached the Western media hours later for interpreting Montazeri’s statements as «a withdrawal of the Islamic Republic from its position on the hijab and religious morality as a consequence of the riots. «No official of the Islamic Republic of Iran has said that the Irshad Patrol — the ‘morality police’ — has been annulled,» the broadcaster said.
The dissolution of the ‘morality police’ and a process of reform and democratization of the Iranian authorities have been among the main demands of the demonstrators, who denounce the repression suffered by the population, which is also plunged into a serious economic crisis.
