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Thursday, May 22, 2014

Young Iranians arrested for 'vulgar' Pharrell Williams' Happy dance

Six Iranians, some of whom were filmed without veils, forced to apologise to state for 'vulgar clip which hurt public chastity' 

The Telegraph, Josie Ensor, and Ahmad Vahdat, 21 May 2014


Six young Iranians have been arrested and forced to apologise after posting a home-made version of US singer Pharrell Williams’s hit song Happy on the internet.

The clip shows three men and three unveiled women singing and dancing to the tune in the streets and on rooftops in Tehran, the capital.

The Islamic Republic took exception to the video, which was posted on Youtube and received nearly a quarter of a million views, accusing the group of producing a “vulgar clip which hurt public chastity”.

Hossein Sajedinia, Tehran's police chief, said: “Following a series of intelligence and police operations and after coordinating with the judiciary, all the suspects were identified and arrested.

“After a vulgar clip which hurt public chastity was released in cyberspace, police decided to identify those involved in making that clip.”

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One of the women who took part in the video, entitled Happy: We are From Tehran, said the girls had covered their hair with wigs in an attempt to conform to the codes.

Under Islamic law, in force in Iran since the 1979 revolution, women must cover themselves from head to toe.

More than a decade ago a “morality police” unit was formed to verify that women scrupulously respect the dress code in public.

She said the purpose of the video, which was posted online in April, was to “tell the world” that young people are “joyful and want to make the situation better. They know how to have fun, like the rest of the world.”

However, the group were each made to “confess to their criminal acts” on state television.

The brother of one of the women criticised the decision to arrest his sister Reyahane.

Siavash Taravati, who lives in the US, told the Telegraph. “The IRIB’s (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) action in showing the “confession” of my sister and her friends (...) is just outrageous.

“Apparently they first arrest people without any charge or civil right to defend themselves, then interrogate them and then make them confess and finally broadcast their show.”

Mr Taravati critised the tactics used by the police squad that arrested his sister. "We understand the security forces arrest Reyhane when she was at home and alone," he said. "The arrested people are being held at Vozara detention centre but as to which force is holding and interrogating them no one has any clue."

More than a decade ago a “morality police” unit was formed to verify that women scrupulously respect the dress code in public.

The internet is also heavily filtered in Iran, with the authorities blocking access to popular social networking sites.

Civil liberties and women’s rights have returned to the forefront since President Hassan Rohani’s election last June.

A moderate, he had campaigned for greater cultural and social freedoms in the Islamic republic, specifically urging police tolerance over the veil.

In a speech over the weekend, Mr Rouhani argued that Iran should embrace the Internet rather than view it as a threat.

But Conservatives regularly denounce what they see as laxity on the part of the authorities on women covering up or on behaviour deemed offensive to Islam.

Pharrell Williams responded to Iran’s decision on his Twitter account, saying: “It’s beyond sad these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness.”


One of the dancers updated her Instagram profile to say she had been released 

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