TEHRAN
\nIran\u2019s judiciary has ordered police to \u201cfirmly punish\u201d people who violate the country\u2019s hijab law, a news agency reported Tuesday, after nearly four months of deadly protests against the measures.
\nDemonstrations have swept Iran since the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old ethnic Kurd, after her arrest in Tehran for allegedly failing to adhere to the law.
\nSince the outbreak of the protests, the morality police unit charged with enforcing the hijab rules has been less visible and women have taken to the streets without mandatory headscarves.
\nBut authorities signalled less tolerance since the start of the year, with police warning that women must wear headscarves even in cars.
\nOn Tuesday, Mehr news agency reported that the prosecutor general had issued a directive in which \u201cpolice were ordered to firmly punish any hijab violations.\u201d
\n\u201cCourts must sentence the violators, as well as fine them, to additional penalties such as exile, bans on practicing certain professions and closing workplaces,\u201d it quoted the judiciary as saying.
\nIran has executed four people over the protests sparked by Amini\u2019s death in the custody of the morality police. Another 13 have been sentenced to death, and six have been granted retrials.
\nAuthorities say hundreds of people, including security personnel, have been killed and thousands arrested in connection with the protests, which they generally describe as \u201criots.\u201d
\nIn recent weeks the judiciary has closed several cafes and restaurants for serving bare-headed women.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEHRAN Iran\u2019s judiciary has ordered police to \u201cfirmly punish\u201d people who violate the country\u2019s hijab law, a news agency reported Tuesday, after nearly four months of deadly protests against the measures. Demonstrations have swept Iran since the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old ethnic Kurd, after her arrest in Tehran for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-306725","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n