12 Individuals in Shiraz Sentenced to 379 Months in Prison Related to Modeling

According to reports, Branch 117 of the Shiraz Criminal Court has sentenced 12 defendants in the 'modeling' case in this city to a total of 379 months in prison, a ban on leaving the country, and a prohibition from working in certain professions. Mahmoud Taravat Roy, the lawyer for some of the defendants, stated on Tuesday, December 6, that the accused include eight women and four men. According to Mr. Taravat Roy, the charges against these individuals include 'creating the grounds for corruption and prostitution through the dissemination of vulgar and obscene images on social media,' 'encouraging and promoting corruption and prostitution,' 'holding clothing exhibitions by presenting Western models,' and 'modeling and promoting Western nudity culture.' He reported that one woman in this case was sentenced to one year in prison, and one man to six years in prison along with a ban from public and governmental services and a two-year prohibition from media activity after serving their sentences. According to Mr. Taravat Roy, in this case, one woman and one man received five years in prison, three women received four years, one woman received six months, one woman received five months, and a couple received eight months in prison. He announced that these individuals were also banned from working in clothing design and production and holding clothing exhibitions for two years after serving their sentences. The lawyer for some of the defendants also reported that one man in this case was sentenced to two years in prison and a two-year prohibition from photography after serving his sentence. According to Mr. Taravat Roy, the court also sentenced all defendants in this case to a two-year ban on leaving the country after serving their prison terms. He reported that an appeal has been filed against this ruling, but no branch has been designated yet for the review process. The Fars Province IRGC website reported on Sunday, August 28, that several managers and users of social media who were active in areas deemed by this organization as 'against moral security, the criminal modeling cycle, and insulting religious beliefs' were summoned or arrested. This website quoted an unnamed IRGC official from Fars Province stating that 'about 170 group or channel managers' who were active on messaging apps and social media platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram were summoned, and some were arrested. Earlier, the local website 'Shirazeh' reported on Friday, July 8, that the 'Greenland' entertainment complex in Shiraz was shut down for participating in and supporting the 'modeling' project. In recent months, similar reports have emerged regarding the arrest of dozens of individuals in Tehran, Kurdistan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Ardabil, Kermanshah, Semnan, and Razavi Khorasan provinces on charges of activities in the 'modeling' field. The Cyber Organized Crime Center, affiliated with the IRGC, reported on May 15 that in a project called 'Spider Project 2' on social media, especially Instagram, after 'identifying' 170 individuals managing modeling pages, legal cases were formed for 29 individuals, with eight arrested and the rest summoned. On the same day, Iranian state television aired remarks by Elham Arab, a well-known model on social media, in front of several Tehran prosecutor's office managers. In this video, which resembles an interrogation session, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor, questions Ms. Arab about how models operate on social media. After Ms. Arab's remarks, the Tehran prosecutor stated that 'a large number of beauty salons and photography studios have come under the supervision of intelligence and judicial systems, and we have had good arrests in this area, and many pages on Instagram have been closed.' Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders condemned the 'summoning and arrest' of more than '800' social media users in the field of 'modeling' on Tuesday, September 6. In this context, dozens of social media activists in Kurdistan and Fars provinces were summoned or arrested by the IRGC. The Revolutionary Prosecutor of Ardabil stated: 'We dismantled a vulgar modeling network.' Eleven individuals were arrested in Sistan and Baluchestan in connection with 'modeling.'