Eight 'Music Video Producers' Arrested in Tehran

Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the judiciary, reported on Saturday, May 28, the arrest of eight music video producers in Iran, citing the Tehran prosecutor who stated that the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office has been assigned to handle their case. No further information has been released about the detainees, and the Mizan report only mentioned that they are 'producers of vulgar music videos' whose productions were broadcast on a 'famous anti-revolutionary network.' The report also did not mention the name of the network that aired the videos produced by this group. On Saturday, Fars News Agency also published statements from the Tehran prosecutor at a gathering of judges from districts 3, 5, and 11 of the Tehran Prosecutor's Office, quoting him as saying that the prosecution's action against these individuals in the past week was 'based on legal authorization.' According to Fars, Mr. Dolatabadi expressed hope that these arrests would be 'the last arrests in this regard.' Dozens of Persian-language television channels outside Iran make their programs available to Iranian citizens via satellite, and while some of these channels produce a variety of news and entertainment programs for their audiences, some only broadcast music videos. In recent years, some of these satellite networks, which have been very popular in Iran, have faced access restrictions due to government-related interference. The news of the arrest of these eight music video producers was published just one day after Amnesty International reported that three Iranian artists sentenced to prison had been summoned to serve their sentences. Mehdi Rajabian and Yousef Etemadi, composers, and Hossein Rajabian, a filmmaker, have each been sentenced to three years of imprisonment and three years of suspended imprisonment, and they have been asked to report to the prosecutor's office by June 1 to serve their sentences. The main reason for the prosecution of these three artists, who have been accused of 'propaganda against the regime' and 'insulting the sacred,' is said to be the establishment of an underground music website called 'Barg Music' for 'producing, publishing, and introducing Iranian underground music.' Amnesty International also emphasized on Friday, May 26, that if the sentence is carried out, these three Iranian artists would be considered 'prisoners of conscience,' as this human rights organization states that they have been subjected to these sentences due to their artistic activities. Warning from the police to satellite music video producers. However, just hours before the announcement of the arrest of several 'music video producers,' Tasnim News Agency quoted Saeed Montazer Al-Mahdi, the police spokesperson, stating that the police would confront satellite video producers 'who are producing these videos in Tehran.' In response to a question from a Tasnim reporter regarding the police's reaction to 'the production of unauthorized singers' videos in Tehran' and the broadcasting of these videos on satellite networks, the police spokesperson said that such cases fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and that 'if reports of violations in these cases are provided, the police will definitely deal with the offenders.' He also reminded that 'the police, when faced with such cases, after taking initial actions, will file a legal case and, with a judicial order, will take legal action against the producers of these videos.' Previously, there have been instances of the arrest of music video producers in Iran, including in July 2014, coinciding with the World Cup, when the release of a video featuring the song 'Gol Iran' by the group Ajham led to the arrest of three young artists in Shahroud. At that time, the commander of the Shahroud police stated that scenes from this video were filmed in Shahroud, and after several days of investigation, two 23-year-old actors and the 26-year-old director were identified and arrested. The Music Website also reported in February 2015 the arrest of Ardeshir Ahmadi in Isfahan, who was referred to as one of the 'renowned directors in the underground music video field' responsible for producing clips for some of Amir Tataloo's works. Before that, two famous music video producers named Hossein and Mohammad Boushehri had been arrested for a period, and it was noteworthy that they had also produced clips for figures like Mohammad Esfahani and Hamed Zamani and had won the Qoqnoos award from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for being the best music video directors.