Free Republic

Authorities in Iran arrested four girls and women last week for posting videos of themselves dancing on Instagram. Only one of the girls, 17-year-old gymnast Maedeh Hojabri, has been identified. State TV in Iran aired her “confession” on Friday. Instagram is one of the few Western social media sites not heavily blocked in Iran, and Hojabri posted about 300 photos and videos before her account was temporarily shut down. Her account appears to be back up as of this morning. Hojabri posted a new video just hours ago addressing her critics. Hojabri, who reportedly has often spoken about gymnastics and...

In the West it would be considered an innocuous albeit amateur tribute video to singer Pharrell Williams’ massively popular song “Happy.” But in Iran, a video of six men and unveiled women dancing in Tehran to hit song was enough to be arrested over. “Sol Production” posted the tribute video on Monday to YouTube, which has already garnered nearly 40,000 views. Iranian police wasted no time in tracking down the happy Iranians, arresting them on Tuesday according to Al Arabiya. …