Iran Shutters Education Center Over 'Inciting Riots'

2023-07-17

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TEHRAN, IRAN —Iranian authorities have shuttered an educational center accused of "inciting riots" during last year's mass demonstrations triggered by the death of a young woman while in police custody, state media reported Monday.

Nationwide protests rocked Iran following the September death of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, Mahsa Amini, in police custody after her arrest over violating the Islamic republic's strict dress code.

"We prepared and issued a warrant for the closure of Gaj center following the directive of the minister of education," state news agency IRNA quoted Ahmad Mahmoudzadeh, head of Iran's non-governmental schools, as saying.

Mahmoudzadeh said Gaj had " incited riots" during a Persian literature exam for students, without elaborating.

Iran's reformist newspaper Shargh daily reported that the Gaj center had cited excerpts from revolutionary poems by prominent dissident Farrokhi Yazdi.

The Gaj educational center, which was founded in 2002 and creates educational materials including university entrance exams, has won multiple awards over the years for its publications.

Last year's protests saw hundreds of people killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands arrested in connection with what officials labeled as "riots" fomented by foreign countries after Amini's death.

Seven men have been executed in protest-related cases involving killings and other violence against security forces.

On Sunday, Iran's police said it has restored morality police patrols to deal with women who "insist" on violating the dress code.