TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Six young Iranian men and women videotaped dancing to Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” and the homemade video’s director have been sentenced to suspended jail terms and lashes, their lawyer said Friday.
The Iranians’ case attracted international attention when they were detained in May for participating in a production deemed indecent by hard-liners in Iran. The video showed the men and women, none of whom wore obligatory headscarves, dancing together in sunglasses and silly clothes on Tehran rooftops and alleyways.
Lawyer Farshid Rofugaran said the seven received suspended sentences of six months in jail and 91 lashes each. He said the suspended jail term was punishment for acting in the video and the lashes for ignoring Islamic norms.
The suspended sentences mean that verdicts against the defendants won’t be carried out unless they commit crimes and are found guilty in the next three years.
“My clients did act in a video and their actions are contrary to religious requirements but are not crimes to deserve legal punishment. Saying prayers is a religious obligation in Islam but no one gets jail terms for not saying prayers,” he told The Associated Press on Friday.