An engaged couple in Iran has been sentenced to 10 and a half years each in prison for dancing.
Astiyazh Haghighi, 21, and her fiance, Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, 22, were convicted of “promotion of impurity and indecency, assembly and collusion against national security, and propaganda against the regime”, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.
This was after they posted a 16-second video on Instagram of them dancing together in front of Teheran’s Azadi Square, one of the sites of anti-government protests. The pair have nearly one million followers each on Instagram.
Their sentences are greater than the total handed down last month to a man who beheaded his teenage wife, reported ABC News. Dancing in public is illegal for women in Iran, as are men and women embracing.
The couple was violently arrested at their home in Tehran on 1 November 2022.
Both were denied access to lawyers and had their bail attempts rejected.
Their dance moves did not appear to be associated with the mass protests against Iran’s strict Islamist regime, the BBC reported.
But the video has still been lauded as a symbol of freedom in support of the protests.
Iran’s strict Islamist regime states that Azadi Tower is also a “place of huge sensitivity”, AFP reported. It translates as “Freedom Square”.
The landmark was built by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi shortly before he was overthrown in the 1979 revolution. It was designed by an architect who practises the Bahá’í faith, which Iran’s Islamic Republic has cracked down on since it took power.
The protests in Iran were sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, while in police custody.
The United Nations reported that more than 14,000 people have been arrested, including children, athletes and celebrities.
Compiled by Mashudu Mabila
Pictured above: The doomed couple dancing
Image source: @flykidflo
