Iran has abolished its dreaded "morality police" in the wake of continuing protests following the September death in police custody of 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin Mahsa Amini, the country's chief prosecutor has said.

"Morality police have nothing to do with the judiciary" and have been abolished, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

The attorney general commented at a religious conference where he responded to a participant who asked "why the morality police were being shut down", the report said.

The morality police- known as the Gasht-e Ershad or "Guidance Patrol"- were established under president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to "spread the culture of modesty and hijab". The units began patrols in 2006.

The announcement of their abolition came a day after Jafar Montazeri said that "both parliament and the judiciary are working (on the issue)" of whether the law requiring women to cover their heads needs to be changed.

The controversial morality police patrols were established in 2006 under hard-line President Mahmud Ahmadinejad to enforce the country's Islamic dress codes, particularly the requirement to wear the hijab, or female head covering.

The squads of men in green uniforms and women in black chadors initially issued warnings, but soon began arresting women for alleged violations.

Montazeri was quoted the previous day as saying parliament and the judiciary were "working" on whether the law requiring women to wear the hijab in public should be changed. He added that "the results will be seen in a week or two."

On December 3, the Iranian government said more than 200 people had been killed in the protests sparked by Amini's death in September.

The United Nations and Iranian rights groups put the figure at more than 300, as the nationwide protests have evolved into one of the most serious challenges to the theocracy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Image source: AP