Alternative Sentence for those Accused of not Wearing Proper Hijab: 270 hours of Labor as a Cleaner
A woman accused of not following the Sharia law on hijab was given an alternative sentence instead of being sent to prison; she was required to work for 270 hours (four hours per day) as an unpaid cleaner at the Interior Ministry and its related subunits (Governorate of Tehran and attached provinces).
According to reports, the text of the decree issued by one of the branches of Criminal Court Two was published online yesterday. It states that a woman accused of not following the Sharia law on hijab was sentenced to two months imprisonment but was given an alternative sentence of 270 hours of public service as a cleaner/janitor in government buildings.
The text of the decree, issued on June 18, 2023, is reproduced below.
Decree of the court
Regarding the charge of not following the Sharia law on hijab in public spaces, the subject of the report dated….with reference to 1. information obtained from examining photos taken by urban surveillance smart cameras, 2. The defendant’s unjustified defense, including her confession of committing a punishable offense,3. The defendant’s manner of dress; the accused’s guilt under the aforementioned criminal law is evident to the judicial authority because
- Wearing hijab is one of the essential obligations under Sharia; ignoring it is considered a violation of divine order
- Wearing hijab is one of the legal requirements, and non-observance of it is considered a violation of the law, a disturbance of public order, and a crime
- Wearing hijab is one of the rational requirements arising from pure human nature, and not observing it is considered unwise and a departure from pure human nature.
- Wearing hijab is one of the cultural requirements arising from the great Iranian civilization, and not observing it is considered a violation of Iranian culture and civilization.
- Wearing hijab protects society from sexual libertinism, and non-observance of it is considered equivalent to pushing society towards sexual immorality. Non-observance is considered to be political Haram (uncleanness) and aiding the enemy’s all-out attack on the Iranian nation.
- Wearing hijab protects the Iranian family from debauchery and self-destructive behavior, non-observance of it is deemed as contributing to the disintegration of the Iranian family.
- Lastly, hijab is a defense against the all-around economic, political, and cultural attacks by the enemies of the Iranian nation.
From this perspective, emanating from sound judicial wisdom, it is necessary to undertake firm judicial actions against criminals, to protect society, especially young people, from the invasion of lewdness and related obscenities, and to utilize all judicial tools, including punishments, to stop the spread of the imported virus of not wearing hijab.
Therefore, with reference to articles 18, 64, and 65 of the Islamic Penal Code and article 638 (commentary under the article) of the Islamic Penal Code, Book 5 - Punishments, the verdict was decided, and the defendant was sentenced to two months imprisonment. However, to satisfy the legal requirement and the defendant’s expression of remorse, the court prescribes service (cleaning public buildings) as an alternative to imprisonment. The defendant must perform free public service for two hundred and seventy hours (four hours per day) at the Interior Ministry and its related subunits (Governorate of Tehran and attached provinces).
If the accused violates the implementation of the court’s order or the provisions of the sentence to cleaning labor, the court will add one-quarter to one-half of the decreed time to the sentence; in the instance of a second violation, the prison sentence will be implemented. However, if the provisions of the sentence are carried out and the defendant reforms herself, the court may reduce the sentence by one-half at the judge’s suggestion. This decree is final and cannot be appealed.