Iran bloggers couple jailed for 10 years for dancing publicly

Iranian authorities continue to book civilians breaking laws and subject them to gruesome punishments. In a shocking turn of events, a young couple in Iran has been sentenced to more than 10 years in jail for dancing and filming in front of a major Tehran landmark.

The couple, who has been identified as popular Instagram bloggers, Astiyazh Haghighi and Amir Ahmadi, has been arrested and tried in court with a sentence of 10 years and six months in prison, after a video of them dancing in front of Azadi (Freedom) Tower surfaced on the internet.

The court in Tehran also banned the couple from using the internet and leaving Iran, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

The couple was convicted of “encouraging corruption and public prostitution”, as well as “gathering with the intention of disrupting national security”, it said.

The video features Ms. Haghighi not wearing a headscarf. This triggered the Iranian authorities who follow strict rules for women concerning headscarves in public. At one point in the video, Mr. Ahmadi lifts his fiancee as her long hair billow behind her.

The landmark, Azadi Tower, is a place of huge sensitivity for Iranians. It opened under the rule of the last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in the early 1970s when it was known as the Shahyad Tower. Shahyad means in memory of the Shah. It was renamed after the shah was ousted in 1979. Its architect, a member of the Bahai faith that is not recognised in Iran today, now lives in exile.

سال و نیم حبس برای « توی كوچه رقصيدن »

آستياژ حقيقی متولد ١٣٨٠ و نامزدش اميرمحمد احمدی متولد ١٣٧٩، دو بلاگر در فضای مجازی صبح روز دهم آبان ماه همراه با ضرب و شتم در منزل شخصی خود توسط مامورين لباس شخصی بازداشت شده و به بند ٢٠٩ وزارت اطلاعات منتقل شده‌اند.
در طی اين سه ماه... pic.twitter.com/O5xEN9Fqyj

— توانا Tavaana (@Tavaana) January 30, 2023

HRANA quoted sources close to their families suggesting that the couple has been deprived of lawyers during the court proceedings, while attempts to secure their release on bail had been rejected.

HRANA said that Ms. Haghighi was now in the notorious Qarchak prison for women, which lies outside Tehran.

Since the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September, Iran saw a wave of protests that have turned into a movement against the regime where many people act out as a sign of defiance. Amini was detained for allegedly breaking the headscarf laws. Ms. Haghighi and Mr. Ahmadi's video had been hailed as a symbol of freedom by protesters. 

 Since the protests first took place, at least 14,000 people, ranging from prominent celebrities, journalists, and lawyers to civilians, have been arrested, according to the United Nations.