Arrest of 60 Boys and Girls at a 'Night Party' in Sarakheh Hasar, Tehran

Fars News Agency reported that Basij forces arrested 60 boys and girls at a 'night party' in a roadside restaurant in Sarakheh Hasar forest park in Tehran. The agency announced on Tuesday, August 16, that more than 25 liters of foreign alcoholic beverages and quantities of drugs were discovered and confiscated at this celebration. The report did not mention the timing of the event. According to Fars News, the 'main suspect' of organizing this party, named 'Fariborz.G', had published calls for the event through social media and charged each participant 100,000 tomans for entry tickets. This individual had previously been imprisoned for organizing 'night parties and pool parties' and was released on bail just a week prior. In recent months, reports of arrests in various cities across Iran for participating in 'mixed parties' and 'consuming alcoholic beverages' have increased, with reports of several young people being detained in Tehran, East Azerbaijan, Hormozgan, Mazandaran, and Kerman provinces. In June, the implementation of flogging sentences for 35 students due to their participation in a 'mixed night party' in Qazvin faced significant protests and criticism in Iran. Meanwhile, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, deemed the execution of this sentence 'legal' and stated that the judiciary has 'evidence and indications' that such 'parties' are organized 'under the guidance of a specific movement.' Additionally, the public prosecutor of Tehran on August 1 described these actions as 'organized' and called for 'intelligence oversight' by judicial authorities over 'all centers prepared for corruption,' including gardens and halls. Abbas Jafari Dolat Abadi also reported the discovery of a house in Tehran that was allegedly prepared for holding 'mixed gatherings' for some diplomats from foreign countries and associated Iranians, where 'four thousand liters of alcoholic beverages' were found, and two Iranians with dual citizenship were also arrested. In this context, warnings have been issued to athletes and artists about participating in 'vulgar sessions.'