Overview
- The judiciary’s Mizan outlet said two main organizers—one a Kish Free Zone official and one from the private race company—were detained under judicial supervision.
- Prosecutors opened a criminal case, saying the event violated public decency despite prior warnings to follow legal and religious rules.
- Images from the Dec. 5 race showed some women running without hijab, though officials did not specify how many defied the dress code.
- Roughly 5,000 participants ran in separate men’s and women’s events on Kish Island, a tourist free-trade zone known for looser on-the-ground enforcement.
- Conservative media and lawmakers condemned the scenes, Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei pressed for tougher application, and President Masud Pezeshkian has withheld approval of a harsher parliamentary bill.