Men are arrested for wearing SHORTS in new crackdown by Iran’s feared morality police – even though Tehran temperature has climbed to 45C
Disturbing footage has emerged of men being arrested for wearing shorts during a brutal crackdown by Iran’s morality police.
The officers have been seen handcuffing, insulting and in at least one case even beating men who dared to violate the country’s strict dress code as summer temperatures soared.
In Tehran, there have been power outages in recent days as thermometers rose above 45 degrees Celsius.
A new bill on men’s dress codes is currently being debated in Iran’s parliament, after authorities announced stricter rules on the country’s dress code.
The new bill defines “inappropriate clothing” for men. This includes “wearing clothing that is contrary to public morals, such as clothing that does not cover the part of the body that is lower than the chest or higher than the ankles.”
Disturbing footage has emerged of men arrested for wearing shorts during a brutal crackdown by Iran’s morality police
The officers have been seen handcuffing, insulting and in at least one case beating men who dared to violate the country’s strict dress code, even as summer temperatures soared.
The morality police line up and keep an eye out for offenders who break the strict rules on what men and women can wear in Iran
A video shows a teenage boy, dressed in Bermuda-style shorts and a backpack, with his hands cuffed behind his back, being slowly led away by officers
It also says anyone found “naked, semi-naked or wearing clothing considered inappropriate in public” will be arrested.
People who break the law are banned from leaving Iran for a period of six months to two years and are also prohibited from using social media.
However, it appears that zealous police officers are enforcing the rules before they are formally adopted.
In one example, Meysam, a 35-year-old software engineer from Tehran, said he was brutally arrested by the morals police while wearing shorts on a hot day. The Telegraph.
As he was walking, a white van pulled up and three men jumped out, shouting and asking what he was doing.
“They grabbed me by the neck and forced me into the back of the van. They said they were taking me to the social security police.”
There were others in the van, including a man and three girls, all of whom were crying and had also been arrested for their clothing.
“We never expected them to be so strict with us just because we were wearing shorts.”
He was taken to a police station and made to promise never to wear shorts again, but nothing further happened.
However, the women were told that charges would be filed against them with the Public Prosecution Service.
Elsewhere, a video has emerged online showing a teenage boy, dressed in Bermuda shorts and a backpack, with his hands cuffed behind his back, being slowly led away by officers.
Footage has also emerged showing at least three police officers in Tehran beating a man in shorts at a train station.
A woman wearing a long niqab looks on as an officer says: ‘You are a cow, you are a donkey.
“Do you think that with a few slogans like ‘woman, life, liberty’ you can do whatever you want?”
Another officer intervenes and punches the man in the face.
The man begs them to wear the shorts because it is hot.
“That’s not possible,” is the blunt answer.
In recent months, people in Iran have taken to the streets to protest against the strict laws, which also apply to women.
The protests were sparked by public outrage following the death of 22-year-old Masha Amini in 2022.
The death of Masha Amini, 22, in police custody in 2022 sparked global protests
Amini died in custody after flouting Iran’s ultra-conservative dress code, sparking outrage across the country and beyond
Ms Amini died in custody after being detained by Iran’s morality police for not wearing her headscarf ‘correctly’.
Her death set off weeks of protests across the country in Iran after reports she had been beaten to death by police.
Iranian authorities deny these claims, saying she did not die from severe beatings but from multi-organ failure caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain.
Iran has seen the largest protests since 2009 following her death, a conflict between a state that favors stricter adherence to religious law and a more liberal Iranian community.
Iran’s “morality police” have since launched sporadic campaigns to verbally or violently arrest and “re-educate” women who break the rules, in response to changing dress codes and standards.
Recently, an Iranian mother of two was reportedly shot dead in her car by police for violating the country’s draconian hijab rules.
Arezoo Badri, 31, was left paralysed from the waist down after she was shot while driving home in the northern town of Noor on July 22.
Arezoo Badri, 31, was left paralysed from the waist down after being shot while driving home in the northern town of Noor on July 22.
Iranian police had attempted to arrest Ms Badri and confiscate her car, BBC reported.
The police chief told Iran’s state news agency that the driver did not stop, prompting officers to fire. However, they did not name Ms Badri as the woman involved.
According to the police, Ms Badri failed to stop her car when the officers asked her to do so.
Last year, police said they would use surveillance cameras to identify female drivers or passengers who did not cover their hair and impound their cars.
Women in Iran have been required by law to wear a headscarf since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. If they break the rules, they risk fines or even imprisonment.
The nation also accepted its ‘morality police’ to regulate behavior after a period of secularization until the mid-20th century.
Ms Badri was first treated at a hospital in Sari, the provincial capital, where she underwent lung surgery, but a week later she was transferred to Tehran
It is believed that millions of women have since been detained by police to be ‘re-educated’ about their dress codes.
Last October, another tragedy struck when 17-year-old Armita Geravand died in hospital after an alleged confrontation with the vice squad at a metro station.
The teenager was in a coma for ten days, but eventually died at Fajr Hospital in Tehran.
Human rights activists claim she was attacked because she did not cover her hair. The Iranian government denies this story.