BBC: approved that the arrest of the couple took place after they posted the video on social networks.
CBS News reported that Iran’s state media Mizan claimed Haghigi and Ahmadi were detained not for dancing, but for promoting resistance efforts in their Instagram posts, “encouraging people to rebel against the country and sabotage.”
Mizan contested the 10-year sentence and claimed that the couple were sentenced to five years in prison for publishing a “call of protest”.
“It is clear that counter-revolutionary forces lied about the charges, claiming that each was sentenced to 10 years in prison,” the Islamic Republic’s Judiciary’s Mizan news agency said, according to Reuters.
“Astiaz Haghighi and Amir Mohammad Ahmadi called for a rally on November 4 and called for riots on their Instagram accounts,” Mizan said in a statement, according to CBS News. “During the mass riots, they used their page to advertise appeals, including the November 4 appeal.”
The couple was individually sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison by a Tehran court, for a total of 21 years, on charges of “promoting impurity and obscenity, organizing gatherings and collusion against national security, and propagandizing against the regime.” “Washington Post said Wednesday. The couple was also banned from social media and banned from leaving the country for two years. Although their profiles remain public, there have been no posts on Haghighi’s feed since September 28, 2022. Ahmadi’s last post was in early September.
Iranians are increasingly protesting against the government’s theocracy, and the authorities are cracking down. Much of the public disapproval was caused by the death last year Mahsa Amin, a 22-year-old woman who was arrested by Iran’s morality police for inappropriately wearing a hijab. Amini died days later in their custody.
Iranian officials have since arrested public figures who have spoken out against the government’s response to Amini’s death. This includes arrests of prominent actors I will take you to Alidost and a celebrity chef Nawab Ibrahimi.
Haghighi came out in support of Amin in September. In an Instagram post, he wrote: “Hopefully tomorrow will be a better tomorrow. Let’s hold each other’s hands and support each other. We are all Iranians and we should help each other.”