You've got to
cherish the little freedoms you enjoy after reading this piece.
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.”
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. They were released after being held
for 24 hours except for the Director of the video who still remains in custody.
Grammy Award
winner and owner of the song, Pharrell Williams denounced the arrests on his Facebook page saying
"It is beyond sad that these kids were arrested for trying to spread
happiness,"
I hope the
Director is released soon.
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