Iran Focus
Tehran, 25 Jul – Iranian officials arrested 150 young people for attending a mixed-gender birthday party in Islamshahr, near Tehran.
In a statement given to the regime-affiliated news agency, Tasnim, on July 25, Colonel Mohsen Khancherli, the regime’s police commander for the west of Tehran Province, said: “After we obtained a report about a mixed-gender party in a garden in the vicinity of Islamshahr in the west of Tehran Province, an operation was carried out by the police and another organization, leading to the arrest of dozens of boys and girls.”
He continued: “Some 150 boys and girls had gathered at the mixed-gender party under the guise of a birthday party in this garden which is situated next to a studio where unlawful music was produced and recorded. Upon arrival of the police, all those present were arrested and sent before the judiciary.”
Khancherli admits that police forces routinely surveil gardens and other private property for breaches of their draconian morality code and that this will be increased during the summer period.
This follows reports last week that over 50 young Iranians at a party in Damavand, were arrested by the regime’s suppressive state security forces.
Mojtaba Vahedi, the head of the regime’s judiciary in Damavand, told Tasnim that the party was arranged on social media and that those arrested could be charged with moral code violations.
Vahedi added: “Families must be more vigilant regarding their children to make sure they do not end up in such circumstances.”
Shahin Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said: “The clerical regime has never been so isolated at home and loathed by the Iranian people, in particular by the youth and women. As such, it is resorting to more and more repressive measures to confront this growing trend.”
Gobadi dismissed the idea of a tolerant Iran.
He said: “[Iran is in a] shaky state [when it] cannot even tolerate private festivities of the people, particularly the youth. It is becoming more evident that the mullahs are totally paranoid of any social gathering in fear of a popular uprising.”
These most recent arrests bring the total number of young people arrested since May for attending a party with men and women to almost 600. Some of those arrested have been lashed and fined for daring to attend a celebration.
According to Ismaeil Sadeqi Niaraki, a notorious mullah, this breach of morality required swift and firm action because Iran will not tolerate the excuses of “freedom” or “having fun”. He then proceeded to brag about a previous incident in which the teens were taken from arrest to trial to punishment in one day.
Niaraki said: “Thanks [sic] God that the police questioning, investigation, court hearing, verdict and implementation of the punishment all took place in less than 24 hours.”
