BBC confirmed that the couple was arrested after they posted the video on social media.
CBS News reported that Iran’s state media agency Mizan declare Haghighi and Ahmadi were not detained for dancing but for inciting a protest attempt in their Instagram posts by “encouraging people to rebel against the country and subvert.”
Mizan objected to the 10-year penalty and claimed that the couple received a 5-year prison sentence for publishing a “call to protest.”
“It is clear that counter-revolutionary forces misrepresented the charges by claiming that each was sentenced to 10 years,” said the Mizan news agency of the Islamic Republic’s judiciary. Reuters reported.
“Astiazh Haghighi and Amir Mohammad Ahmadi posted calls for protests on November 4 and calls for riots on their Instagram pages,” Mizan said in a statement, according to CBS News. “During the riot, they used their page to advertise calls, including the one for November 4th.”
The couple were sentenced by a court in Tehran to 10 years and 6 months in prison each, for a total of 21 years, on charges of “inciting obscenity and indecent, assembly and collusion against national security” nations, and anti-regime propaganda,” The Washington Post speak Wednesday. The couple have also been banned from using social media and not allowed to leave the country for two years. Although their profile remains public, there have been no posts on Haghighi’s feed since September 28, 2022. Ahmadi’s last post was in early September.
An increasing number of Iranians oppose the government’s theocratic rule, and the government is cracking down on it. Much of the public dissent was sparked last year by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman was arrested by Iran’s ethics police for improperly wearing a headscarf. Amini died a few days later in their custody.
Since then, Iranian officials have arrested public figures who spoke out against the government’s response to Amini’s death. This includes arrests of famous actors Taraneh Alidoosti and famous chef Navab Ebrahimi.
Haghighi voiced her support for Amini in September. In an Instagram post, she wrote: “Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Let’s hold hands and support each other. We are all Iranians and we need to help each other.”
