60 Arrested at a Mixed Party in Mashhad

The deputy prosecutor of Mashhad announced that 60 women and men have been arrested at a mixed party in the city, and 20 vehicles belonging to them have been impounded. According to ISNA news agency, Hassan Heydari stated on Friday, March 9, that 22 men and 38 women, who were 'mostly dancing semi-naked,' were apprehended. He reported that a quantity of 'alcoholic beverages' and music and lighting equipment were discovered at the party. Heydari also mentioned that 20 vehicles belonging to the participants were seized and transferred to a parking lot. No further details about this event have been released. In recent years, reports of arrests in various cities in Iran for participating in 'mixed parties' and 'consuming alcoholic beverages' have increased, with reports of several young people being detained in different provinces. These actions come as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, claimed on Thursday in response to the issue of mandatory hijab: 'The Islamic system does not care about a person who does not wear hijab in their own home and in front of non-mahrams, but actions that take place in the street and in public are indeed public actions and teachings, creating obligations for the Islam-based system.' Last week, the commander of the Basij in Lavasan, a district of Shemiranat County, reported that 50 girls and boys were arrested at a mixed party in Lavasan. Prior to that, reports had emerged of the arrest of '230 girls and boys in two separate parties' in Tehran, '64 girls and boys at a pool party' near Isfahan, '55 women and men at a party in Kerman,' and '45 men and women at a mixed party in Qom.' Since the early years after the 1979 revolution, revolutionary committees have dealt with issues such as the distribution of music tapes, video films, home parties, and similar cases, referred to as 'immoralities.' A few months ago, following the announcement of the formation of neighborhood Basij patrols, the newspaper Etemad compared these patrols to the activities of revolutionary committees in the early years of the 1979 revolution and the 1980s. In this context, Gholamhossein Ghaibparvar, head of the Basij Organization, stated in a press conference on November 15 this year that 'we intend to reduce checkpoints and turn them into neighborhood patrols.' Since the 1979 revolution, Basij forces have established checkpoints in the streets of Iranian cities, inspecting passersby and passing vehicles. Although the number of these patrols decreased in the 1990s, various plans regarding checkpoints and Basij patrols were implemented in the 2000s, and in 2008, Basij patrols began operating across Iran.