Maedeh Hojabri is your average year-old girl. She has a fervent passion for dance and used Instagram to share videos of herself dancing in her bedroom with her ,plus followers. Little did she know that her peers would also use the platform to express their support of her right to do so. They received their answer last Tuesday, according to the The New York Times , which reported that the year-old appeared on a local TV show called Wrong Path , apologizing for dancing to Western music and confessing that by doing so, she was committing a crime. I only do gymnastics.

Six Iranians arrested for appearing in a video dancing to Pharrell Williams' song Happy have been sentenced to up to one year in prison and 91 lashes, their lawyer says. The sentences were suspended for three years, meaning they will not go to prison unless they reoffend, he adds. The video shows three men and three unveiled women dancing on the streets and rooftops of Tehran. The majority of people involved in the video were sentenced to six months in prison, with one member of the group given one year, lawyer Farshid Rofugaran was quoted by Iran Wire as saying. The "Happy we are from Tehran" video was brought to the attention of the Iranian authorities in May, after receiving more than , views.

An Iranian teenage girl has been detained for posting videos of herself dancing in her bedroom on Instagram. Maedeh Hojabri, an year-old gymnast, admitted breaking moral norms in a state TV video broadcast on Friday. She maintained that was not her goal and that she was simply attempting to garner more followers, although it was not clear whether her statement was made under duress. Local news website Shabooneh said Ms Hojabri — who has attracted tens of thousands of followers — and three other individuals were detained on similar charges in recent weeks before being released on bail.