Iranian couple filmed dancing in Tehran are jailed for 10 years

An Iranian couple who filmed themselves dancing in the street have been jailed for ten years in total, it has been reported.

The young couple, in their twenties, posted the video to their Instagram accounts dancing by Tehran’s Azardi (Freedom) Tower.

According to the BBC, the couple were arrested following the video and have since been given jail sentences totalling ten years.

Astiazh Haqiqi, 21, and her fiance Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, 22, were reportedly convicted of “promoting corruption and prostitution, colluding against national security, and propaganda against the establishment".

The sentences come amid a crackdown by the authorities over widespread protests across Iran after the death of a woman who was detained by morality police over allegedly not wearing a head covering.

The protests were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, in police custody in September last year.

According to reports, the couple were also handed a two-year ban on using social media. They did not link their dance to anti-Government protests.

The family home of Ms Haqiqi, a fashion designer, was said to have been raided before the arrest.

It is unclear how long the sentence is for each of the separate convictions they are facing, and if their verdicts are upheld they will have to serve the longest one of the terms.

According to human rights groups, at least more than 500 protesters have been killed and more than 19,000 arrested in the unrest since September, which represents one of the most serious challenges to the ruling regime since the 1979 revolution.

Earlier this month, foreign secretary summoned Iran’s most senior diplomat in the UK Mehdi Hosseini Matin over the regime’s execution of protesters.

James Cleverly condemned the executions of Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, two of the at least four people known to have been executed by the regime since protests began.

He said at the time: “The Iranian regime must end its campaign of brutal repression and start listening to the concerns of its people.

The two men had said they had been tortured into making false confessions over killing a member of the security forces during protests.