Iranian Old Man’s Instagram Page Blocked Over “Criminal” Dancing Clip

The authorities in Iran have taken down the Instagram page of a pensioner after a video clip of him dancing on the street in the northern city of Rasht had gone viral. 

Police deleted all the posts on his page and posted a message reading, "This page was blocked due to the publication of criminal content."

🎞️ The authorities in #Iran have taken down the Instagram page of a pensioner after a video clip of him dancing on the street in the northern city of #Rasht had gone viral.#truth pic.twitter.com/UZcKns5OEZ

— IranWire (@IranWireEnglish) December 8, 2023

His Instagram page had 128,000 followers.

Hossein Hosseinpour, the deputy police chief of Gilan province, said on December 5 that "12 Instagram page managers" were arrested after "the publication of images of dancing on public roads and in the Rasht market."

The footage was "shared on social media and satellite networks," Hosseinpour said, adding that the clips were removed from nine accounts.  

This is not the first time the Islamic Republic’s institutions have targeted social media users for posting images of people dancing and having fun.