Iranian Teenage Girl Arrested For Posting Dance Videos On Instagram, Police Says Punishing ‘Indecency’

An Iranian girl named Maedeh Hojabri has been arrested for posting dance videos on Instagram, The Guardian has reported.

Hojabri is one among the many arrested for posting videos on the social media websites. The identities of others who have been arrested has not been disclosed.

Hojabri, who had close to 600,000 followers, has appeared on television and made confessions along with others who had been arrested. According to activists, these confessions are not voluntary, but given under coercion.

“It wasn’t for attracting attention. I had some followers and these videos were for them. I did not have any intention to encourage others doing the same … I didn’t work with a team, I received no training. I only do gymnastics,” the young woman, whose face was blurred, confessed on television.

Touraj Kazemi, the head of Iran's cyber police, has stated that his department would identify and take 'action' against popular accounts on Instagram.

This is not the first occasion on which Iran has punished 'indecency' on social media. In 2014, a group of Pharrell Williams fans were arrested for dancing to a song. They were punished with lashes and imprisonment.