Skip to main content

Iran's 'morality guardians' determined to curb protests


 The ongoing protests against the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran have also been heard in Krakow, where Iran is taking part in the 2023 World Handball Championship, being hosted by Poland and Sweden. 


Even though the event is being held thousands of kilometers beyond Iran's borders, the Iranian regime is doing everything it can to discourage – or even physically stop – any form of protest. Among the members of the Iranian handball delegation for the tournament are so-called "morality guardians" who answer directly to the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Information.  

Officially, they are accredited as team supervisors, but their actual work has nothing to do with supporting the players on the court. The morality guardians not only monitor the behavior of the national team players, but they also closely observe their surroundings, particularly the spectators. 

One incident during Iran's 34-31 loss to Montenegro showed just how far these morality guardians are prepared to go to suppress what they see as the inappropriate freedom of expression. One of the morality guardians ran up to an Iranian spectator holding up a banner that read "Women, Life, Freedom" and knocked it out of her hand several times. This slogan is closely associated with the protests against the Iranian regime, which were sparked by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody last September. The incident during the match in Krakow saw several nearby spectators rush to the woman's defense. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

1 Saudi Move & Impact On West Asian Geopolitics

  As one of the most influential players in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia's actions have far-reaching consequences for West Asian geopolitics. In recent years, we've seen several moves from this powerful nation that are shaking up traditional power dynamics and creating new alliances. From its diplomatic spat with Qatar to its growing relationship with Israel, Saudi Arabia is making bold moves that could change the face of West Asia as we know it. Join us as we dive into the geopolitical implications of Saudi Arabia's latest actions and explore what they mean for the future of this critical region. Saudi Arabia has long been a dominant force in the Middle East, wielding its oil wealth and religious influence to shape regional politics. Its alliance with the United States has given it even greater sway on the global stage, making it a key player in shaping West Asian geopolitics. However, Saudi Arabia's role in the region is not without controversy. Its support for conse

Untold story of weapons in Iran

  With Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and Iran getting its hands on the weapons, things have become extremely unpredictable in the region. In the forceful acquisition, Iran has been making several under-the-table deals with Taliban’s leader. In the widespread scam it was revealed that Iran has been stealing US military equipment despite repeated warnings of the officials and the regional heads. Increasing the regional threats and expanding the territory of fear, Taliban and Iran have joined hands to steal the equipment’s that belonged to US military while they were in Afghanistan. This has proved to be an opportunity for Tehran who has been looking to get back to American treatment of sanctions. Even with Joe Biden in power, the sanctions on Iran remain strict and even higher level talks could not help the two countries come to one state of documentation. Iran is known to fund and support terrorists in the region and with its current leader, who is an ultra-conservative Islamist.

Fights break out as Kurds protest the French government's denial of a terrorist attack

  Following the murder of three Kurds in what is being considered to be a probable racist incident , there have been widespread protests in Paris. The fact that the authorities did not view the attack at a Kurdish centre as a terrorist act has enraged the Kurdish diaspora in Paris. A 69-year-old man opened fire on a crowd of individuals early on Friday morning at the Ahmet-Kaya centre on Rue d'Enghien in the 10th arrondissement. One of the three victims is badly injured. All of the dead were Kurdish community members who passed away both inside and outside the cultural centre. Agit Polat, a spokesman for the Kurdish centre, charged that French officials "yet again failed to safeguard us... This is a terrorist attack in our eyes, according to the AFP news agency. In the afternoon, a number of protestors, largely from the Kurdish diaspora, got into a fight with the police outside the centre and in the streets close by, throwing rocks and torching trash cans. Police use