Iran abolishes morality police: prosecutor general
Iran also considering changes to law requiring women to wear the hijab
Iran has abolished its controversial morality police, the prosecutor general said on Sunday.
"Morality police have nothing to do with the judiciary" and have been abolished, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri was quoted as saying late Saturday by the ISNA news agency.
The move comes amid international pressure and continuing nationwide protests against the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police this past September.
The morality police, called Gasht-e Ershad (Guidance Patrols), are part of Iran's attempt to keep the public in line with the Islamic values of the theocratic regime in Tehran. The authorities can stop women for improperly wearing the hijab (headscarf) and take them into custody for questioning.
On Saturday, Iran said that it was reviewing the law requiring women to wear the hijab.
"Both parliament and the judiciary are working (on the issue)" of whether the law needs any changes, Montazeri said.
Thousands have been arrested, some of whom have faced the death penalty, as the regime attempts to squash the demonstrations that have swept the country over Amini's death. Protesters are demanding reforms to the strict Islamic rules governing the country.