Two Iranian bloggers handed 10-year sentences for dancing in public
Madrid, Feb 1 (EFE).- An Iranian court has sentenced Instagram bloggers Astiyazh Haghighi and Amir Ahmadi to a combined total of 21 years in prison after they were filmed dancing in public, a human rights group has announced.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) said late Tuesday that Haghighi and Ahmadi were handed a jail sentence of 10 months and six months each for the “promotion of impurity and indecency, assembly and collusion against national security, and propaganda against the regime.”
They also have been banned from leaving the country and posting on social media for two years, Hrana added.
The young couple were denied access to a lawyer during the legal proceedings that ended up with them being convicted, case-linked sources told Hrana.
Haghighi and Ahmadi were arrested on November 1 after they posted a video of them dancing in a city square on social media
Their sentence comes weeks after massive protests rocked Iran over the death of 21-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was arrested by the morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly.
Iranian authorities responded with a series of crackdowns on protesters, leaving almost 500 people dead, nearly 20,000 arrested and four executed, according to NGOs.
The United States, as well as the European Union, has imposed heavy sanctions against the government and its officials, whom the West accuses of being behind the crackdown.EFE
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