Young couple who danced in viral video handed lengthy jail sentence in Iran

[Stevicus]

Young couple who danced in viral video handed lengthy jail sentence in Iran

A young couple in Iran have been arrested and imprisoned after posting a video of themselves dancing together in front of Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Tower.

Astiyazh Haghighi, 21, and her fiancé Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, 22, both popular Instagram influencers in Iran, were convicted of promoting corruption and disturbing national security, activists reported on Tuesday.

The November 2022 video, which may have led to their arrest, showed Haghighi without her headscarf in public, in defiance of Iran's morality laws. At one point in the video, Ahmadi lifts his fiancée in the air with her long hair flowing. Women are also not permitted to dance in public.

According to Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), a group that has closely monitored the country's protest movement, the pair were sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for "promoting corruption and prostitution, colluding against national security, and propaganda against the establishment."

Iran's Mizan news agency, though, contends that they were sentenced to five years in prison for using social media to incite riots. It's unclear how the discrepancy between these two reports arose.

The original video of the couple dancing has since been removed from social media, along with both of their Instagram accounts. But copies of the videos have surfaced and are now being widely circulated on social media.


While the couple didn't explicitly link their dance to the ongoing protest movement in Iran, the video has been used to highlight the freedoms that anti-government protesters are fighting for.

Since September, Iranian authorities have sought to quell protests that were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested for violating headscarf laws. While the protests initially centred around Iran's restrictive morality laws, it has since expanded to calls for a regime change.

Activists say at least 16 people have been sentenced to death in closed-door hearings over charges linked to the protests. At least 517 protesters have been killed and more than 19,200 people have been arrested, according to HRA. Iranian authorities have not provided an official count of those killed or detained.

The HRA says Haghighi and Ahmadi were deprived of lawyers after their arrest, citing family members, and their attempts to secure bail for their loved ones have been rejected. The activists also claim the two were banned from using social media and prohibited from leaving the country for two years.

Before their arrest, the couple had a combined following of almost two million on social media.

Dancing disturbs national security in Iran.

The futuristic Azadi Tower in Iran's capital was opened under the rule of the last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in the early 1970s to commemorate 2,500 years of the Persian Empire. It was originally named the Shahyad (In Memory of the Shah) Tower but was renamed after the ousting of the shah and the creation of the Islamic republic in 1979.

The architect of the tower, a member of the persecuted Bahá’í faith, now lives in exile.

 

[Rachel Rugelach]

"A young couple in Iran have been arrested and imprisoned after posting a video of themselves dancing together in front of Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Tower."

I presume that just about everyone here will see the irony of being arrested for dancing in front of a Freedom Tower.

 

[ChristineM]

 

[Sand Dancer]

Young couple who danced in viral video handed lengthy jail sentence in Iran







Dancing disturbs national security in Iran.

Seriously, this is ridiculous.

 

[Father Heathen]

I hope the Iranian people topple this regime.

 

[amorphous_constellation]

I actually want some clarification from @Revoltingest about something. Revoltingest, what should our views be towards this regime, and should it differ from our views toward the current russian regime? It doesn't seem like there's a fundamental reason why one should see the ukraine vs. russia thing, as being different from the broader west vs. iran, in terms of freedoms lost. I am not projecting a view onto you here, just looking for clarification

 

[Revoltingest]

I actually want some clarification from @Revoltingest about something. Revoltingest, what should our views be towards this regime...

Our goal should be reduction of hostilities.

...and should it differ from our views toward the current russian regime?

Yes. Russia is far larger, far more aggressive, far
more dangerous, actively invading another country,
threatening nuclear war with NATO, & planning
more invasions.

It doesn't seem like there's a fundamental reason why one should see the ukraine vs. russia thing, as being different from the broader west vs. iran, in terms of freedoms lost.

You see no difference in behavior & threat posed?
Nor in our behavior towards either?
Iran hasn't invaded its neighbors.
Russia is currently invading Ukraine.
Iran has endured invasion by our proxy Iran.
Russia hasn't.
We overthrew an elected leader in Iran in 1953.
We haven't staged a coup in Russia.

I am not projecting a view onto you here, just looking for clarification

You've only made a request.
I've no problem with that at all.
More here should try querying instead of presumption.

We have an opportunity for peace with Iran
by simply ending over half a century of
deadly aggression towards them.
We don't have the same opportunity with Russia,
since allowing their invasion of Ukraine to continue
is unacceptable.

 

[Subduction Zone]

My eyes!!!

But seriously, I see a lot of love between the two. That is all. And meanwhile in Singapore a man is suing a woman for putting him in the friend zone:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...7c22781ab5d3|9B92E6DBBBD0249DE0530100007F9FA6

 

[amorphous_constellation]

You see no difference in behavior & threat posed?
Nor in our behavior towards either?
Iran hasn't invaded its neighbors.
Russia is currently invading Ukraine.

Well I guess I just see people as mere people - and by that, I don't use the word 'mere' as a way to denigrate them, but rather to try and elevate them all. In terms of individual sovereignty, I don't see a fundamental difference between russia imprisoning a civilian in ukraine, and iran domestically imprisoning a dancer.

 

[Revoltingest]

Well I guess I just see people as mere people - and by that, I don't use the word 'mere' as a way to denigrate them, but rather to try and elevate them all. In terms of individual sovereignty, I don't see a fundamental difference between russia imprisoning a civilian in ukraine, and iran domestically imprisoning a dancer.

Russia is doing far more in Ukraine than imprisoning
a civilian. There's an issue of magnitude in inhumanity
to one's own & people in other countries.
Elevating Russia to equivalence with Iran seems wrong.

 

[amorphous_constellation]

Russia is doing far more in Ukraine than imprisoning
a civilian. There's an issue of magnitude in inhumanity
to one's own & people in other countries.
Elevating Russia to equivalence with Iran seems wrong.

I understand that they are trying to presently annex a country, and that is very bad. But I think that there is threshold, that both iran's and russia's governments have broken, beyond which the notion of relative morality might break down. It flat-lines on the morality graph, beyond a certain point, or may seem to. I would not like a person who murdered one person, and I also would not like someone who murdered 10. But they both broke a threshold whereby they share something important in common, beyond which I am equally, I suppose, wary of either of them

 

[Revoltingest]

I understand that they are trying to presently annex a country, and that is very bad.

"Annex" is an interesting word choice to
describe conquest by violent invasion.

But I think that there is threshold, that both iran's and russia's governments have broken, beyond which the notion of relative morality might break down. It flat-lines on the morality graph, beyond a certain point, or may seem to.

I judge by consequences of actions, rather
then descriptions of government.

 

[amorphous_constellation]

I judge by consequences of actions, rather
then descriptions of government.

I edited my post with an analogy, that I think might be relevant

 

[Revoltingest]

I edited my post with an analogy, that I think might be relevant

It explains your view.

 

[Stevicus]

I actually want some clarification from @Revoltingest about something. Revoltingest, what should our views be towards this regime, and should it differ from our views toward the current russian regime? It doesn't seem like there's a fundamental reason why one should see the ukraine vs. russia thing, as being different from the broader west vs. iran, in terms of freedoms lost. I am not projecting a view onto you here, just looking for clarification

If I may, just to weigh in on this, US foreign policy has often been criticized for being inconsistent and/or not in keeping with the ideals commonly associated with Western liberal democracies. We also have a long-term history of relations with both Iran and Russia. Russia and Iran also have had a long-term relationship, and Iran has found itself in the Russian sphere of influence even going back to Tsarist times.

At present, the US has no formal diplomatic relations with Iran, and relations with Russia are quite strained at the moment. In terms of US policies regarding both countries, as well as our policies towards other countries which might be considered tyrannical, oppressive, or otherwise violative of human rights, our government seems to formulate its policy based on other factors.

In other words, invading another country or having oppressive policies does not appear to be a dealbreaker in terms of having a friendly relationship with the United States.

Overall, I think US foreign policy over the past 20-30 years has been short-sighted and foolish. If we had played our cards right, we could have forged a strong bond of cooperation and friendship with our two former adversaries, Russia and China. But I think it's probably too late for that now. One thing I will say about both FDR and Nixon is that they were exceptionally skilled in international diplomacy, and they had gifted insight into geopolitics - skills that are rare in US politicians nowadays.

Another thing I noticed early on, way back during the Cold War, was that smaller countries could gain advantage by playing off the larger powers against each other. It was apparently the case in Vietnam, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and elsewhere around the world. If the major powers had been able to get along and reach a level of cooperation for mutual benefit, then we probably would have been in a better position to deal with a lot of these situations.

One final point I would make here, regarding U.S. politicians. Most Americans tend to view U.S. politicians with a somewhat jaded and cynical eye, and politics itself has had a rather shady reputation overall. However, it's a necessary evil, so people accept government and politics over more anarchistic alternatives. Still, the general character of politicians is not unlike that of a sleazy used car salesperson. They'll smile and put out the glad hand and act like they're you're friend, but sooner or later, they're going to stick it to you. But it seems that on the international scene, even bribery, intrigue, and gunboat diplomacy have its limits - and we have reached ours.

I think it would be wise for the U.S. to tread carefully here. We can't control everything in the world. There are a lot of countries in turmoil, and the best thing we can do to help them is to try to reach some sort of reasonable arrangement with the other major powers of the world. If we can't conquer the world, then we have to find a way to cooperate and coexist. And if we can't do that - or if we refuse to do that - then we might find ourselves spiraling down into a more unstable world.

 

[Twilight Hue]

If the world wants to become more authoritarian. So be it.

 

[Father Heathen]

My eyes!!!

But seriously, I see a lot of love between the two. That is all. And meanwhile in Singapore a man is suing a woman for putting him in the friend zone:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/02/singapore-rejected-man-sues-woman/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https://s2.washingtonpost.com/car-ln-tr/390436f/63dbefbb1b79c61f87761280/5e14dde59bbc0f414f1b260a/38/72/63dbefbb1b79c61f87761280&wp_cu=31c1633ebb1a69fe3ab37c22781ab5d3|9B92E6DBBBD0249DE0530100007F9FA6

That **** reads like something from The Onion.

 

[Estro Felino]

"A young couple in Iran have been arrested and imprisoned after posting a video of themselves dancing together in front of Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Tower."

I presume that just about everyone here will see the irony of being arrested for dancing in front of a Freedom Tower.

I think the notion of freedom in those countries is: choosing deliberately with a knife pointed behind one's own back.

 

[PureX]

What worries me is that I know there are a lot of U. S. politicians that would also jail this couple if they thought it would please their idiot base and help them get elected, or re-elected. And there are plenty of idiots in their base that would be happy to see their fellow citizens treated this way just because they disagree with their lifestyle.

We look at these incidents in other countries and wonder how they could be so cruel and foolish. And yet we can't seem to see how absurdly cruel and foolish our own government, and in some cases even ourselves, have become.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

I presume that just about everyone here will see the irony of being arrested for dancing in front of a Freedom Tower.

Also add the irony that it was a Freedom Tower who's Architect was a Baha'i.



"Herein lies a great irony. The young Baha’i architect, Husayn Amanat, who designed the Shahyad Tower was forced to flee Iran in 1979, the very year his persecutors changed the name of the monument he designed to “Freedom Tower”. At that time, the agents of the new revolutionary government were arresting Baha’is to deliver them up for torture and execution, sometimes after sham trials. Some, though, disappeared without trace, and Baha’i women as young as 17 years had their lives terminated on the gallows for teaching the equivalent of Sunday school."

Iran's Baha'i and the Freedom Tower - Australian Institute of International Affairs

Regards Tony