February 1, 2023

Interestingly (or disgustingly), their sentences of 10 and a half years each are greater than the one handed down last month to a man who beheaded his wife. Astiyazh Haghighi, 22, and Amir Mohammad Ahmadi 21, are influencers with a combined 2 million followers on Instagram.

Source: ABC (Australia)

An Iranian couple who filmed themselves dancing in front of Tehran's Azadi Tower and posted the footage to Instagram have each been sentenced to a total of 10 and a half years in prison.

Astiyazh Haghighi, 22, and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, 21, were sentenced on Sunday after having been convicted of promoting indecency, colluding against national security, and producing propaganda against Iran's government, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and IranWire, a news organisation run by Iranian journalists outside of the country.

The 16-second video, posted to Instagram in October, shows them dancing together in Tehran's Azadi Square at night, with the brightly lit Azadi Tower visible in the background.

Ahmadi holds Haghighi in his arms as they spin around at one point in the tightly edited clip, causing her uncovered hair to trail out behind her.

Dancing in public is illegal for women in Iran, as is men and women embracing, and women leaving their hair uncovered.

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