Iranian couple jailed for 10 years after DANCING in front of Tehran landmark

An Iranian couple who danced in from of the famous Azadi Tower landmark in Tehran have been handed a 10-year prison sentence.

According to a report today, Tuesday, January 31, an Iranian couple have been handed a 10-year prison sentence for dancing in front of a prominent landmark in the country’s capital city, Tehran.

This was announced by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). A video of Astiyazh Haghighi and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi that went viral after being posted online last November showed the young couple having a romantic dance in front of the Azadi (Freedom) Tower.

In the footage, it can be seen that Haghighi was not wearing the Islamic republic’s mandatory headscarf. In line with the country’s strict laws, females are not permitted to dance in public. To dance with a man in public is an even graver offence.

According to HRANA, Ahmadi and Haghighi were subsequently arrested and appeared in a revolutionary court in Tehran. The judge sentenced both of them to 10 years each in prison, along with an internet ban. Their sentence also prohibits them from leaving Iran.

They were charged with: ‘encouraging corruption and public prostitution’ as well as ‘gathering with the intention of disrupting national security’, said HRANA, as reported by dailymail.co.uk.

Citing family sources, the organisation claimed that both detainees had been deprived of lawyers and all requests for bail had been rejected by the authorities. According to them, Haghighi is currently being held in the notorious Qarchak women’s prison located on the outskirts of the capital city.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian republic’s Supreme Leader has recently clamped down on anything perceived to amount to dissidence. The Iranian regime has had to deal with waves of nationwide protests since the death in custody last September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Women have taken to appearing in public without their headscarves as a sign of protest.

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