In a coordinated action, several branches of Iran’s judicial system have recently issued "controversial" rulings targeting opponents of the country’s mandatory hijab regulations. The verdicts have affected many professions and sparked outrage, leading to widespread condemnation.
In a recent case, a woman in the city of Varamin was sentenced by a public court to a supplementary punishment of "one month of washing corpses at the Tehran city mortuary" for the charge of "non-compliance with hijab" while driving.
Images in reaction to the verdict also have surfaced on social media platforms.
The judicial ruling was issued by Mohammad Hossein Esmail Morineh, the presiding judge of Branch 104 of the Criminal Court in Varamin.
Recently, Tehran's court imposed a six-month ban on actress Azadeh Samadi, prohibiting her from using social media platforms directly or through intermediaries on the grounds of "not observing hijab."
In another aspect of the verdict against the Iranian actress and critic of compulsory hijab, she was ordered to undergo "antisocial personality disorder" treatment by attending "official psychological centers" every two weeks. Additionally, she must provide a "health certificate" upon completion of the treatment period.
Kambiz Norouzi, a legal expert, expressed his reaction to the verdict issued by the Varamin court, stating on his Telegram channel, "Regardless of the dubious justifications for the defendant's conviction, the supplementary punishment imposed is truly 'astonishing.'"
He continued, "A court that imposes the punishment of washing corpses for one month as a supplementary penalty lacks a sound understanding of human rights and a proper grasp of appropriate sentencing."
The Human Rights Activists News Agency, or HRANA, had previously reported that in Iran, a female "resident" and a member of the medical staff had also been sentenced by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic to a prohibition on employment and compelled to perform cleaning services as a result of "non-compliance with hijab while driving."
Ali Khaleqi, a professor of criminal law at the University of Tehran, strongly criticized the judicial ruling, saying "Imposing a ban on a physician [resident] from employment in all government institutions, particularly in state-run medical centers, based on not wearing hijab while driving on the street, is entirely unwarranted and goes against legal standards."
Abbas Sheikh al-Islami, the head of the Khorasan Lawyers Association, criticized the sentence imposed on a woman who opposed compulsory hijab, sentencing her to "one month of washing corpses at a mortuary." He remarked, "Fortunately, one of the roles of social media is to circulate 'weak verdicts' and to reflect the legal community's objections to them."
He further emphasized, "The act of not wearing hijab has no relevance to 'washing corpses.' If the defendant had spit on the deceased or desecrated the body, perhaps such a sentence would have been appropriate to help the defendant grasp the gravity of washing corpses and discourage such behavior."
In the meantime, the Farhikhtegan newspaper that is published in Tehran and affiliated with the Islamic Azad University and known for its alignment with the establishment, stated in its Saturday edition, "By arbitrarily juxtaposing the religious obligation of hijab with the religious obligation of washing corpses, we have created a clash between religions in such a ruling."
According to experts and social activists, the Islamic Republic aims to suppress the growing and widespread "civil disobedience" against compulsory veiling in different cities throughout Iran by issuing such "derogatory and demeaning" judgments against women who oppose mandatory hijab, and therefore undermining the professions and individuals employed in those professions.
Mansoureh Hosseini Yeganeh, a women's rights activist, expressed to VOA’s Persian Service, "The Islamic Republic's destructive and aggressive actions against opponents and protesters have weakened the barrier of compulsory hijab."
