Iranian couple filmed dancing at Tehran landmark jailed for 10 years

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.

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.

Still images from a video show Astiyazh Haghighi and Amir Ahmadi dancing in front of Tehran's Azadi Tower. AFP

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.

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

At one moment in the video, Mr Ahmadi lifts his fiancee as her long hair billows behind her.

The gigantic and futuristic Azadi Tower is a place of huge sensitivity. It opened under the rule of the last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in the early 1970s when it was known as the Shahyad Tower. Shahyad means in memory of the Shah.

It was renamed after the shah was ousted in 1979. Its architect, a member of the Bahai faith that is not recognised in Iran today, now lives in exile.

Meanwhile, HRANA said Armita Abbasi, a young Iranian woman whose case has prompted international concern, went on trial on Sunday.

She was arrested in October in connection with protests in the city of Karaj, outside Tehran.

In November, US news outlet CNN cited sources and a medical official who said Ms Abbasi had been taken to hospital after she was raped in custody. Iranian authorities have denied the allegations.

HRANA and Iranian media on Tuesday quoted her lawyer Shahla Oroji as saying that the charges against Ms Abbasi, who has been denied bail, include disseminating propaganda against the system.

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On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

THE BIO

Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old

Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai

Favourite Book: The Alchemist

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While you're here

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Editorial: What makes the UAE such a good place to test vaccines?

Editorial: The fight against Covid-19 should be guided by science

Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.

MO

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Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners

Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)