A couple in their early twenties have been sentenced to 10 and a half years in jail after sharing a video of themselves dancing in the streets of Iran.
22-year-old Astiyazh Haghighi and her 21-year-old fiancé, Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, were sentenced on Sunday after they shared the 16-second video of themselves dancing in front of Tehran's Azadi Tower on Instagram in October.
In the video, Ahmadi can be seen lifting and spinning Haghighi, whose hair is uncovered.
An Iranian couple have been sentenced to a ten and a half year jail sentence after a video of the pair slow dancing was published online.
— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) February 1, 2023
In Iran, women are not allowed to dance or appear without a headscarf in public. #9News pic.twitter.com/RSdl3FOreY
The pair, who have a combined Instagram following of nearly two million, were 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.
According to the ABC, their 10-and-a-half-year sentences are the combined total of their prison terms. It's unclear how long the sentence is for each of the separate convictions they are facing.
In Iran, dancing in public is illegal for women, as is men and women embracing. Women are also required to cover their hair.
The couple did not associate the dance to the ongoing protests in Iran, which have spread through the country since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September.
Feature Image: 9News.
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