Iran: Dancing Couple Given 10-year Jail Sentence

Astiazh Haqiqi and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi dance on a Tehran street: Photo: Twitter
Astiazh Haqiqi and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi dance on a Tehran street: Photo: Twitter
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Iran: Dancing Couple Given 10-year Jail Sentence

Astiazh Haqiqi and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi dance on a Tehran street: Photo: Twitter
Astiazh Haqiqi and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi dance on a Tehran street: Photo: Twitter

An Iranian couple in their 20s have been given jail sentences totaling 10 years after posting a video of themselves dancing on a Tehran street, the BBC reported.

They were reportedly convicted for promoting corruption, prostitution and propaganda.

The video showed them dancing by Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Tower, BBC said.

A source has confirmed to BBC Monitoring that the couple's arrest came after they posted the video to their Instagram accounts, which have a combined following of nearly two million.

Astiazh Haqiqi, 21, and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, 22, are said to be convicted of "promoting corruption and prostitution, colluding against national security, and propaganda against the establishment".

Haqiqi’s family home was raided before the arrest.

It is unclear how long the sentence is for each of the separate convictions they are facing. They have each been sentenced to a total of 10 and a half years - a combined sentence for the charges.

If their verdicts are upheld, they will have to serve the longest one of those sentencing terms.

According to reports, they were also handed a two-year ban on using social media and leaving the country.



Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
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Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi announced he intends to visit Tehran through a letter he addressed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iranian Mehr Agency reported that Grossi sent a congratulatory message to the Iranian president-elect, which stated: “I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on your election win as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“Cooperation between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been at the focal attention of the international circles for many years. I am confident that, together, we will be able to make decisive progress on this crucial matter.”

“To that effect, I wish to express my readiness to travel to Iran to meet with you at the earliest convenience,” Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted Grossi as saying.

The meeting – should it take place - will be the first for Pezeshkian, who had pledged during his election campaign to be open to the West to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue.

Last week, American and Israeli officials told the Axios news site that Washington sent a secret warning to Tehran last month regarding its fears of Iranian research and development activities that might be used to produce nuclear weapons.

In May, Grossi expressed his dissatisfaction with the course of the talks he held over two days in Iran in an effort to resolve outstanding matters.

Since the death of the former Iranian president, Ibrahim Raisi, the IAEA chief refrained from raising the Iranian nuclear file, while European sources said that Tehran had asked to “freeze discussions” until the internal situation was arranged and a new president was elected.