ALBAWABA - Major news outlets reported a few days ago that Iran abolished its 'morality police' following massive protests in the wake of the death of activist Mahsa Amini while in police custody. But the news turned out to be misleading.
Masih Alinejad, an exiled Iranian journalist and activist, spoke to ABC News about whether the news about disbanding the morality police in Iran is true or false; Alinejad responded: "We were shocked by seeing the title of the New York Times."
"This is a total lie, disinformation and a propaganda move," she maintained.
The false news spread by @nytimes claiming victory for the so-called abolition of the morality police hurts the ongoing revolution.
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) December 6, 2022
I told @ABCNewsLive that when dictatorships like the Iranian regime are in trouble, they spread propaganda and obfuscation pic.twitter.com/xHXNMCSCEZ
The Iranian-American journalist stated that these kinds of fake news are usually spread by the Iranian government to either see the reaction of the rest of the world, or to calm down the protesters.
Misleading titles claiming that Iran abolished morality police started when attorney general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri was asked about the Guidance Patrol, or morality police, at a conference. He said that they "have been shut down from where they were set up".
#BREAKING
— Samira Mohyeddin سمیرا (@SMohyeddin) December 4, 2022
Mohammad Jafar Montazeri,
Islamic Republic’s attorney general, denies news that morality police is to be abolished.
"No official authority in Islamic Republic of Iran has confirmed the closure of morality police."#IranRevoIution #MahsaAmini
👉https://t.co/OvwyjU2066 pic.twitter.com/x80sLbKstO
However, the Iranian government didn't confirm the move, and the local media reported that his remarks had been "misinterpreted".
The U.S. State Department further said that there's 'no evidence that Iran is improving its treatment of women and girls or ceasing the violence it inflicts on peaceful protesters,' adding that the claim is only propaganda.
Did Iran say it will shut the Guidance Patrol (Hijab police)?
— Arash Azizi آرش عزیزی (@arash_tehran) December 4, 2022
No. Here is what happened:
In a press conference, someone asked top prosecutor, Jafar Montazeri, why was the Guidance Patrol not around anymore.
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Protests broke out in Iran last September following the death of the 22-year-old Amini, on Sept. 16, three days after she was arrested by the Iranian morality police for wearing an 'improper hijab'.
Viral protests have erupted across Iran, where women were seen burning the hijab and cutting their hair calling for an end to women's strict rules advocated by Muslim Shiite clerics in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
