Why 170 Instagram Models Are Going To Prison For Posting Their Selfies
By
Editorial Staff in
Bizarre
On 12th December 2016
In the western world, the worst punishment you’ll get for posting too many selfies is the ridicule of the people around you, and perhaps a sponsorship or two from a teeth whitening company. In Iran, however, posting a selfie can result in a prison sentence or even public lashings.
Thanks to a recent crackdown on the Iranian creative community on Instagram, hundreds of people have been targeted by the government. Instagram is an incredibly popular site in Iran, since Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are all banned.
#1
The operation is said to have identified 170 people running Instagram pages, including 59 photographers and makeup artists, 58 models, 51 fashion salon managers and designers, and two institutions.
#2
The operation, known to police as Operation Spider 2, has particularly been targeting Iranian women featured in photos the government considers to be "promoting western values". This includes photos in which women leave their hair uncovered, since the hijab has been compulsory in public in Iran since the country's 1979 Islamic revolution.
#3 So which Instagram accounts have been targeted in the sting? Head over to the next page to find out.
#4 The models under fire, including Elham Arab, Elnaz Golrokh, and Melika Zamani, have millions of followers between them.
Javad Babayi, the head of the Iranian cyber-crimes court, said: "The purpose of Operation Spider 2, which was launched two years ago, is to monitor the use of social media by the Western imperialist powers to change the Iranian-Islamic life-style of our nation. During our monitoring we noticed that more than 20 percent of the social media used by our youth is directed at modelling business via Instagram."
#5 The harshness of the punishment shouldn’t be surprising, considering in Iran, the death sentence is used for crimes such as drug trafficking and robbery.
So what sentences could these models and creatives face? Well, during a similar crackdown in May 2014, authorities arrested a group of young Iranian men and women after video of them dancing to Pharrell Williams' song Happy leaked online. They each received six months in prison and 91 lashes.
