A couple in their 20s who shared a video of themselves dancing in the streets in Iran, were given jail sentences totaling 10 years, reportedly convicted of promoting corruption, prostitution and propaganda.
Iranian couple arrested for dancing in the street
Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, 22, and his fiancée, 21-year-old Astiyazh Haghighi, were videoed dancing together in the streets of Iran. When the video was posted online to Instagram, authorities arrested the couple.
India Times posted a clip of the actual video showing the couple dancing on YouTube.
Although the couple did not link their dance to the ongoing protests in the country, Iranian authorities have been handing out heavy sentences to people they viewed as being involved in the protests that followed the death of a woman who was detained by the country’s morality police, BBC reported. Authorities were labeling any anti-government protests as “riots.”
Last September, protests against the government swept across Iran after Mahsa Amini, 22, died in police custody. The protests erupted after she was arrested for allegedly violating a rule that requires women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf.
Authorities raided the family home of Haqiqi, who lists her profession as a fashion designer, before she was arrested.
The couple, Ahmadi and Haqiqi, were said to be arrested on charges of “promoting corruption and prostitution, colluding against national security, and propaganda against the establishment.”
Dancing in the street gets 10-year jail sentence for couple in Iran
Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, 22, and his fiancée Astiazh Haqiqi, 21, were both convicted of the aforementioned charges. However, it is unclear how long the sentences for each of the four separate convictions are. However, the charges have been combined into a total sentence of 10 1/2 years for each of them, according to activist group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), CNN reported.
According to BBC, if their verdicts are upheld, each will have to serve the longest one of those sentencing terms.
In addition, they were also each handed a two-year ban on using social media and leaving the country, according to reports.
Secret raves one way Iranians protest
Dancing is one way people protest in Iran, as it is regarded as an illegal, indecent act. People say dancing is a symbol of freedom to them, and they express their freedom by attending underground “raves” or parties.
“It’s a huge risk for the people who attend, the people who organize and the DJs,” a 30-year-old Iranian DJ named Aida told the BBC.
