Iranian Couple Given 10 Years in Prison for Dancing

A young couple in Iran have been sentenced to more than 10 years in jail after they were filmed dancing in front of a major Tehran landmark, activists have said.

Popular Instagram bloggers Astiyazh Haghighi and Amir Ahmadi, both in their early 20s, were arrested in early November after a video of them dancing in front of Azadi (Freedom) Tower went viral.

The video of Ms Haghighi and Mr Ahmadi had been hailed as a symbol of the freedoms being demanded by the protest movement.

Ms Haghighi did not wear a headscarf in the video. Iran has strict rules for women concerning headscarves and dancing in public.

A court in Tehran sentenced them each to 10 years and six months in prison, and banned them from using the internet and leaving Iran, US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Tuesday.

The couple were convicted of “encouraging corruption and public prostitution”, as well as “gathering with the intention of disrupting national security”, it said.

HRANA quoted sources close to their families as saying they had been deprived of lawyers during the court proceedings, while attempts to secure their release on bail had been rejected.

The group said Ms Haghighi was now in the notorious Qarchak prison for women. Activists regularly condemn conditions at the prison, which lies outside Tehran.

Iranian authorities have clamped down severely on all forms of dissent since the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September, after she was arrested for wearing her hijab “inappropriately”.

Ms Amini's death triggered a wave of protests that have turned into a movement against the regime. At least 14,000 people — ranging from prominent celebrities, journalists and lawyers to ordinary people who took to the streets — have been arrested, according to the UN.