Six Iranians arrested for appearing in a video singing along to the American pop song Happy have reportedly been handed suspended sentences of 91 lashes and six months in prison for obscene behaviour.

Another defendant who faced "heavier charges" in relation to the video was handed a suspended sentence of one year in jail and 91 lashes by the authorities, the Iran Wire site quoted their lawyer Farshid Rofugaran as saying.

He was quoted as saying the verdicts had not been officially communicated to him and so he could not be completely sure about the information he had gathered.

The sentences are suspended for three years, meaning that if any of the seven is found guilty of a similar offence, the punishment would then be carried out, he said.

Iran Wire is a news and features website run from outside the Islamic Republic.

The defendants, four men and three women, were detained by police in May after six of them were shown lip synching to Pharrell Williams' hit song Happy.

The women appearing in the clip were bare headed in violation of the Islamic dress code enforced after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The arrests in May drew condemnation from the singer and his fans through social media, as well as indirect criticism from moderate president Hassan Rouhani.

"The way to deal with cultural issues is cultural work, not policemen and [detention] vans and strong-arm tactics," the president told a gathering of conservative clerics in the religious city of Mashhad earlier this month.

Link:
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-19/iranian-happy-singers-get-suspended-sentence/5754694

"I will continue to show
openly and inside me the
total commitment to the
Sharia movement that is
sweeping all over Nigeria,"
Buhari said, quoted in
press reports.
"God willing, we will not
stop the agitation for the
total implementation of
the Sharia in the country,"
Buhari said. THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID THIS NONSENSF IN NIGERIA IS TO VOTE BUHARI OUT ONCE AGAIN IN 2015

They deserved it. I mean, the sheer amount of filth displayed in the video is unparalleled.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTSp5hJELOo

EnlightenedSoul: They deserved it. I mean, the sheer amount of filth displayed in the video is unparalleled.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTSp5hJELOo

Although they went a bit overboard with things considering the laws in Iran, but me thinks the punishment was a bit harsh.

EnlightenedSoul: They deserved it. I mean, the sheer amount of filth displayed in the video is unparalleled.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTSp5hJELOo

You are a disgrace and embarrassment to that word "enlighten Soul"

mike404: "I will continue to show
openly and inside me the
total commitment to the
Sharia movement that is
sweeping all over Nigeria,"
Buhari said, quoted in
press reports.
"God willing, we will not
stop the agitation for the
total implementation of
the Sharia in the country,"
Buhari said. THE ONLY WAY TO AVOID THIS NONSENSF IN NIGERIA IS TO VOTE BUHARI OUT ONCE AGAIN IN 2015

Buhari has never hidden his quest for a total sharia law and Islamic caliphate in Nigeria & is the architecture of sharia law in some northern state which subsequently bred terrorism. And this remains the reason he has remained unelectable each and everytime he contested for office of the president

thwarrior72: You are a disgrace and embarrassment to that word "enlighten Soul"

Lolll, perhaps I need to brush up on my sarcasm.

GuyFawkes:

Although they went a bit overboard with things considering the laws in Iran, but me thinks the punishment was a bit harsh.

I'm confused as to what exactly makes them candidates for a 6 month jail sentence and 91 odd lashings. They mentioned the lack of hijab as a counted offense against the ladies, but listed nothing other than "obscene behavior" as the main offense. I'm wondering what kind of punishment skipping out on hijab normally gets you in Iran, and what "obscene behavior" is, and how much that gets you. The charges appear to be trumped up, even for Iranian standards.

I don't see them as deserving of any punishment at all.

EnlightenedSoul:

Lolll, perhaps I need to brush up on my sarcasm.

Evidently
*notice my sarcasm too* Or is it irony? :\

EnlightenedSoul:

Lolll, perhaps I need to brush up on my sarcasm.

Sorry...my bad, I didn't realise it was a sarcasm.........pardon me please

BoboYekini: Evidently
*notice my sarcasm too* Or is it irony? :\

Loll, don't sweat it. They're very easy to mix up, especially for the non-native English speaker. Alas, I used to be the queen of sarcasm! Now, I fear it's practically undetectable

thwarrior72: Sorry...my bad, I didn't realise it was a sarcasm.........pardon me please

Not a problem. It was probably weak!

EnlightenedSoul:

Not a problem. It was probably weak!

weak kitten