Iran to disband morality police amid ongoing protests, says attorney general - BBC

Iran's morality police, which is tasked with enforcing the country's Islamic formal code, is being disbanded, the country's lawyer wide says.

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri's comments, yet to beryllium confirmed by different agencies, were made astatine an lawsuit connected Sunday.

Iran has seen months of protests implicit the decease of a young pistillate successful custody.

Mahsa Amini had been detained by the morality constabulary for allegedly breaking strict rules connected caput coverings.

Mr Montazeri was astatine a spiritual league erstwhile helium was asked if the morality constabulary was being disbanded.

"The morality constabulary had thing to bash with the judiciary and person been unopen down from wherever they were acceptable up," helium said.

Control of the unit lies with the interior ministry and not with the judiciary.

On Saturday, Mr Montazeri besides told the Iranian parliament the instrumentality that requires women to deterioration hijabs would beryllium looked at.

Even if the morality constabulary is unopen down this does not mean the decades-old instrumentality volition beryllium changed.

Women-led protests, labelled "riots" by the authorities, person swept Iran since 22-year-old Amini died successful custody connected 16 September, 3 days aft her apprehension by the morality constabulary successful Tehran.

Her decease was the catalyst for the unrest but it besides follows discontent implicit poverty, unemployment, inequality, injustice and corruption.

If confirmed, the scrapping of the morality constabulary would beryllium a concession but determination are nary guarantees it would beryllium capable to halt the protests, which person seen demonstrators pain their caput coverings.

"Just due to the fact that the authorities has decided to dismantle morality constabulary it doesn't mean the protests are ending," 1 Iranian pistillate told the BBC World Service's Newshour programme.

"Even the authorities saying the hijab is simply a idiosyncratic prime is not enough. People cognize Iran has nary aboriginal with this authorities successful power. We volition spot much radical from antithetic factions of Iranian society, mean and traditional, coming retired successful enactment of women to get much of their rights back."

Another pistillate said: "We, the protesters, don't attraction astir nary hijab nary more. We've been going retired without it for the past 70 days.

"A gyration is what we have. Hijab was the commencement of it and we don't privation anything, thing less, but decease for the dictator and a authorities change."

Iran has had assorted forms of "morality police" since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but the latest mentation - known formally arsenic the Gasht-e Ershad - is presently the main bureau tasked enforcing Iran's Islamic codification of conduct.

They began their patrols successful 2006 to enforce the formal codification which besides requires women to deterioration agelong apparel and forbids shorts, ripped jeans and different apparel deemed immodest.