Photographs of homeless "grave dwellers" shock Iranians
DUBAI- Widely distributed images of dozens of homeless Iranians, many of them drug addicts, taking shelter in empty graves outside Tehran in freezing temperatures have prompted a public outcry and criticism from President Hassan Rouhani.
The photographs, first published this week by the newspaper Shahrvand - meaning Citizen in Persian - and since circulated online, have prompted criticism of the authorities' handling of poverty and addiction.
A nationwide debate on Iranian media and online between individuals, officials and several institutions has yielded proposals ranging from forced sterilisation of addicts to free deliveries of hot food and rehabilitation programmes.
"Who can accept ... that fellow human beings who suffer social ills have to take refuge in graves because of homelessness?" Rouhani said in a speech shown live on state TV.
