Iranian prosecutor: 8 arrested for 'un-Islamic' Instagram modeling

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 17 May 2016

In Iran, eight people have been arrested as part of an operation that tracks down women not wearing headscarves in Instagram photos.

Javad Babaei, the prosecutor of Tehran's cyber crimes court, said Sunday that social media poses "threats to morality and the foundation of family," and modeling agencies are behind roughly 20 percent of posts on Instagram from Iran that are "making and spreading un-Islamic culture and promiscuity." Since 1979, women in Iran have been required to cover their hair while in public.

Investigators say they have identified 170 people involved in online modeling, including 59 photographers and makeup artists, 58 models, and 51 designers and store managers, with 29 being warned they were subject to criminal investigation, the BBC reports. "The persons who reformed their behavior after receiving a notice did not face any judicial action, and eight out of the 29 have been arrested," Babaei said.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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