Iranians Who Made A Video Dancing To Pharrell's "Happy" Sentenced To 91 Lashes

BBC News- 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. In six months, it has been viewed by over one million people on YouTube. 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 150,000 views. Members of the group behind the video were subsequently arrested by Iranian police for violating Islamic laws of the country, which prohibit dancing with members of the opposite sex and women from appearing without a headscarf. They later appeared on state-run TV saying they were actors who had been tricked into make the Happy video for an audition. The arrests drew condemnation from international rights groups and sparked a social media campaign calling for their release.

91?!  91 lashes?!  91 lashes for making a music video where all they do is dance to a Pharrell song.  I don’t want to sit here and tell the Iranian government how to run their country but that’s absurd.  So they danced around and had fun, where’s the crime in that?.  Now they have to be punished by being lashed 91 times?  BRUTAL.  That’s bizarro world type of shit.  They didn’t kill a man or change lanes without turning on their blinker.  Now, if it was just 90 lashes then I’m totally cool with it.  That number sounds about right for what they did.  It fits the crime if you will.  90 lashes and I’m cool with the punishment.  That Pharrell song is so overplayed all around the world it’s unbelievable.  It’s gotten to the point where the emotion I feel when I hear it is the exact opposite of the title.  That’s how bad its gotten.  Baseball games, half time shows, commercials, bars, everywhere.  Name a place that has speakers and Happy has been played there 600 times.  Again, 91 lashes is absurd.  That number is much too high.  Yes the song sucks but nobody deserves to be lashed 91 times for anything.  Drop that number down to 90 and they have my full support.  Lash away.