Less than a week after newly elected Iranian President Masoud Bezhakian took office, a shocking video of members of the morality police attempting to apprehend two girls went viral in recent hours. The footage, which has been shared widely among Iranians as well as on local media outlets, has shocked many, especially as a large segment of Iranian youth placed their hopes on the new reformist president.
The video, seemingly captured by surveillance cameras, shows two young girls standing behind a small yellow electricity station on a street in the capital, Tehran. They were then seen by three female morality police officers, who quickly descended upon the girls. While one of the girls surrendered and did not resist her apprehension, the other, named Nafas Haj Sharif, resisted. The three women then dragged her and pulled her toward the police car.
Maryam Abbasi's mother confirmed in an interview with "Ensef News" that her 14-year-old daughter was standing with her friend behind a power pole in a Tehran street when a police patrol, consisting of three women, attacked them. She noted that her daughter suffered injuries after her head hit a pole during the arrest and endured brutal beating.
The mother argued that the mandatory hijab laws should not be applied to her daughter, as she is still young, and revealed that she had filed a complaint against the officers involved in the "Noor Project."
Following the widespread circulation of the video, Tehran's military prosecutor announced that the officers involved in the incident had been summoned and referred to a special investigation branch, according to the Fars news agency on Wednesday.
