According to the AP, the statement was made late Saturday night by Iran’s top prosecutor, Mohamed Jafar Motazeri, who said the morality police had been “disbanded.” No further details emerged. Nor what the decision means in practice for Iranian citizens:
– The judiciary continues to monitor behavior at the community level, Motazeri said.
The compulsory veiling of Iranian women and the harsh methods of the notorious morality police to enforce this have been one of the driving forces behind the recent months of popular protests in Iran.
Observers estimate that close to 450 people have been killed in the brutal attempts to stop the demonstrations and that 14,000 have been arrested.
The text is updated.