LATEST: Guardian Council Rejects Law for Tougher Enforcement of Hijab
Iran’s regime has again rejected trials for opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and Zahra Rahnavard, held under strict house arrest since February 2011.
Justice Minister Mostafa PourMohammadi said in a televised interview that bringing official charges against the trio would “play in the enemy’s field” — “the regime has not entered that equation or opened that file”.
Mousavi “lost” the disputed 2009 Presidential election to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a decision which prompted protests by more than a million Iranians. Karroubi also stood in the election, while Mousavi’s wife Rahnavard is a prominent academic, artist, and political activist.
President Rouhani promised in his 2013 campaign that he would free political prisoners like the opposition leaders, and some high-profile figures, such as MP Ali Motahari, have pressed for the formal process of trials. Hardliners have countered with the claim that Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard have led a “sedition” which continues to threaten the Islamic Republic.
PourMohammadi pointed to the debate, saying that a trial would “persist in creating divisions and harm national unity”.
Guardian Council Rejects Law for Tougher Enforcement of Hijab
The Guardian Council has rejected a draft law giving more powers to police to enforce compulsory wearing of hijab by women.
The Council said the law, toughening the requirement for covering of the head and neck, contained 14 flaws and “contradicted the Constitution”. It sent the measure back to the Parliament for amendment.
The draft law, approved last December, also demanded that employers enforce the hijab rule, with companies facing fines for non-compliance.
