Iran: Couple jailed 10 years for dancing to promote corruption, prostitution

Two Iranian nationals, Astiazh Haqiqi and Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, have received jail sentences totaling 10 years after they posted a video of themselves dancing in the streets. The video, which was posted to their Instagram accounts, showed them dancing near Tehran’s Azadi (Freedom) Tower. The couple’s arrest and subsequent convictions reportedly came as a result of the ongoing anti-government protests in Iran, which began after the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. Mahsa Amini was arrested by morality police for allegedly violating the hijab law, which requires women to cover their hair with a headscarf.

Haqiqi and Ahmadi were convicted of promoting corruption, prostitution, and propaganda against the establishment, as well as colluding against national security. Their combined sentence for these charges is 10 and a half years, although it is unclear how long each of the separate convictions carries. They have also been banned from using social media for two years and from leaving the country.

The Iranian government has been using heavy sentences as a way of quelling the ongoing protests, which have become one of the most serious challenges to the regime since its formation in the 1979 revolution. The protests are driven by long-standing discontent over issues such as poverty, unemployment, inequality, injustice, and corruption. The situation has escalated, with hundreds killed and thousands arrested in demonstrations, and at least four protesters executed this month and in December.

–The Post Ghana