Couple who danced and posted on Instagram sentenced to 10 years in prison

Following the death of Mahsa Emini, an Iranian woman who was killed by the morality police after being arrested last year, another decision that provoked a reaction came from Iran, where the popular movement began.

The romantic dance video shared by Astiyazh Haghighi, in her 20s, and her fiancé, Emir Muhammed Ahmadi, on social media has been sued. The couple’s romantic dance in front of the Azadi Tower angered the Tehran government. In the video, it was claimed that Haghighi’s failure to wear a headscarf was linked to the recent growing protests.

The video, which broke the short-time sharing record, was said to have been filmed in early November. In Iran, where very strict rules apply to women, it is forbidden for women to dance alone or with a man.

THE REASONS ARE TOO DIFFICULT

In the statement made by the Tehran court, both Haghighi and Ahmedi were sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison, while the two were also banned from using the internet and traveling abroad. It was recorded that the double sanction, which became famous on social networks, was given for the crimes of “meeting to threaten national security” and “orienting corruption and prostitution.”

On the other hand, it was claimed that Haghighi was sent to the Karchak prison on the outskirts of Tehran. The conditions of this prison are often criticized by international non-governmental organizations.

Following Mahsa Emini’s death, at least 14,000 protesters were detained and some of them were sentenced to death.

One of the most important structures in the Iranian capital, the Azadi Tower (Freedom Tower) was built in the 1970s during the reign of the country’s last king, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.