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I’m yet to read a post about Iran on Reddit where Americans don’t instantly make it about themselves in the comments.
This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 74%. (I'm a bot)


An Iranian court has handed jail sentences of more than 10 years each to a young couple who danced in front of one of Tehran's main landmarks in a video seen as a symbol of defiance against the regime, activists have said.
Astiyazh Haghighi and her fiance, Amir Mohammad Ahmadi, both in their early 20s, were arrested in early November after a video went viral showing them dancing romantically in front of the Azadi Tower.
A revolutionary court in Tehran sentenced them each to 10 years and six months in prison, as well as imposing bans on using the internet and leaving Iran, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said.


Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: Tehran^#1 early^#2 couple^#3 video^#4 activists^#5 >

truly disgusting regime >

I'm not sure if this is meant to be in jest, but in case it's not, this is a completely false equivalence. This is a fairly isolated incident whereas 10 years of jail time for dancing in public is pretty much par for the course in Iran. >

They're both so young and they're going to spend the best years of their lives in a fucking Iranian prison. >

And from what we’ve heard about Iranian prisons I worry for them >

To be fair there’s very few countries prisons that I’ve heard rave reviews of. >

I’ve heard Norwegian prisons are fairly nice. Comparatively of course. >

Can't think of anything more meaningless then locking them up >

What a stupid fucking place to live >

Nothing says "shithole" like a government arresting people for harmlessly enjoying themselves. 
The people of Iran deserve soooooo much better. >

It's amazing how much of cowardly snowflakes authoritarians are. >

Religion,  a continuing scourge on humankind. >

It’s not about religion or dancing. It’s dictators not tolerating criticism. You see it in all authoritarian countries.

who danced in front of one of Tehran’s main landmarks in a video seen as a symbol of defiance against the regime >

You're  kidding right? >

Why would I be kidding? Many laws in Iran are selectively enforced / vaguely worded / open to interpretation and only the regime’s critics are harshly punished. It’s ultimately about control. >

Yeah and how do you think they enforce that control? With religion. By making then think they will got to hell if they don't listen.b
It's way harder to control an authoritarian country without religion. >

I keep forgetting how religious the CCP are. >

I said it's harder,  not Impossible.  You can run through fear. The ccp run with a mix of fear and also ever going improvment on the quality of life of like 99% of the population. 
But without the force or the good condition. >

Kevin Bacon needs to do an intervention in Iran... >

Footloose 2 - Iranian Boogooloo >

Fuck you >

I'm an Indian in Canada and I attended a Latin Salsa concert with my Colombian friend. The audience was mostly Latin but I saw this couple set the dance floor on fire. They were passionately twirling each other around and leaping into the air to thunderous applause from the audience. 
At the end of the concert I learnt they were Iranian and I was like 'WHAAAAT'. They just expressed everything they were repressing throughout their lives on the dance floor and it showed.
Edit : Wow i didn't expect this comment to be so controversial! To clarify, yes India and Iran share a lot in terms of language and food but there are not many Iranians in India or Indians in Iran. I've been in Canada for less than a year and I have met several Iranians here. At last count I know people from Isfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, Kerman, Kermanshah and of course Tehran. I have met Persians, Kurds and Azeris from Iran. Not once did a national obsession for Salsa come up in our conversations. I have attended a couple of birthday parties where I have heard Persian pop being played and my friends dancing, but again I saw no Salsa or other similar intimate dance forms being performed. My surprise was for this reason alone, how an Iranian couple out danced the majority Hispanic audience at that concert in a dance form that is not native to Iran. To me, it seemed their passion was driven by their newfound freedom to express themselves artistically in a public place that, as this article suggests is not possible in Iran. >

I know you only meant well with your comment but...my dude...Iranians dance, like a lot, even in Iran. Yes the government is repressive and absolutely insane, but people never stopped dancing in their private homes.
I got sad reading your comment, like wtf do people think about us. And you're also Indian/Canadian, I felt like you should know us better, we have so much in common. Anyways, your story made me happy to read but the assumption you had going into it...I wonder how much western people think we're all from some backwater. >

It's a tough stance to be offended that people might think Iranians avoid dancing when this article is about people being jailed for a huge portion of their lives because they danced. >

Are you purposely misunderstanding what I'm saying or did you just not get it?
Iranians dance a lot. Our government is repressive. Iranians STILL dance a lot, even in Iran. It's ridiculous to hear from non-Iranians that "wow! They danced so much and they're Iranians who surely don't dance!". 
It shows a clear misunderstanding of our culture and that makes me sad. So if you don't know, now you know. Iranians do dance despite the shitty government. >

It was more that they danced so hard and it's frowned upon at home....I think..... please don't type the same 4 paragraphs again.... >

cool country you got there bro >

Any leader willingly doing business with Iran should be viewed as evil. China, Russia, and Turkey all have a close relationship. As much as I prefer Lula over Bolsonaro, he has shown much support for Iran too. >


A revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having.      

V for Vendetta. >

Eventually the headline will read: "Whole family sentenced to death for talking while eating. "We will not tolerate rude behavior" Iranian Warlord stated. >

A government without dancing is a government not worth having >

The way countries like Iran are destroying their own "human capital" it is a wonder they can carry on. But never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake. >

Right wingers want a Christian version of this in a country near you >

Yeah he is exaggerating a little bit. For now the ones in our country are content with banning education and are still in the book burning phase. We're getting there though. >

Never seen a username fit so perfectly to the written comment >

I gave your recent history a look since you insulted my name(how dare you) and it seems like you have trouble grasping Hearthstone. This topic might be a little bit outside your wheelhouse. >

Bro you didn’t have to literally annihilate the dude like that lmfao >

I’m getting a footloose vibe from this. >

Keep dancing and your head might get loose >

Christians love to act like this isn't what would happen if our government continues to get more religious >

For real, a lot of those evangelical republicans sound like Christian mullahs to me >

This is why you vote and one of the many reasons we need seperation of church and state! >

What exactly is the charge they're filing against them? I'm fascinated by how they justify this >

It's when I read news like this I wish I could turn into Doctor Manhattan, split myself into 2000 bodies, and free all innocent prisoners. And jail all guilty people (kidnappers, rapists, murderers). >

The Iranian people need to rise up and destroy this evil theocracy. >

From any ethical philosophical standpoint these Abrahamic religions tend to be a product of their time, not divine inspiration. 
If they were indeed divinely inspired they would not have practices that have since been so unambiguously unethical >

Most progressive Iranian court >

How is this even defensible? Like for any pro-iran people, how can you even justify this?