Over 230 Youth Arrested in Tehran on Yalda Night

According to reports, on the evening of Thursday, December 21, coinciding with Yalda Night, 230 young people were arrested at two parties in Tehran, and two others were detained on charges that Iranian authorities refer to as "Satanism." As reported by ISNA news agency, Zolfaqaar Barfar, head of the "Tehran Greater Moral Security Police," announced on Friday, December 22, that 140 girls and boys were arrested at a party in a garden in Lavasan. According to this police official, another 90 individuals were arrested at a different party in Farmanieh, Tehran, where "some attendees were inviting others to join the location by sharing live images on Instagram." Mr. Barfar stated that "alcoholic beverages and narcotic substances were discovered" at these two parties, and "the performers at these two parties were also arrested and transferred to the moral security police along with their equipment." Over the past two 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 arrests, which occur in various cities across Iran, have even extended to birthday and wedding celebrations, with dozens being detained or released on bail or fines. Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, called for "intelligence oversight" of all centers he described as "prepared for corruption," including gardens and halls, on July 31, 2016. Following that, police commanders in several provinces of Iran reported multiple inspections of gardens and halls where they claimed mixed celebrations might be held. Meanwhile, Gholamhossein Ghaibparvar, head of the Basij Organization, announced on November 15 a plan to establish "neighborhood patrols." Reports indicate that the implementation of this plan began in early December in some provinces of Iran, including Fars and Isfahan. The daily Etemad compared the formation of Basij neighborhood patrols to the activities of the Revolutionary Committees in the early years of the 1979 revolution and the 1980s. The Revolutionary Committees in the 1980s acted against issues such as the distribution of music tapes, video films, home parties, and political opponents of the Islamic Republic. On the same day, Ismail Afshari, head of police station 110, announced that officers from this station arrested two 22-year-olds who were "drawing shapes and symbols of Satanism on a wall." According to Mr. Afshari, these two young men stated during interrogation that they were "recruited by a Satanic group through social media and acted upon a call made in those groups." According to IRNA news agency, he added: "During their body search, tattoos and symbols of Satanism were observed. One of them also had the inscription on his clothing: 'I have no faith in humanity.'" Iranian officials have previously reported arrests of individuals they label as "Satanists." However, no detailed explanations regarding this accusation have been provided by Iranian authorities, but it seems they use this term for fans of certain music groups, including those in the "heavy metal" genre. In this context, "Suffocation Yalda" refers to the arrest of 64 boys and girls at a "pool party" near Isfahan, the closure of three "night party venues" in Kerman, and the arrest of 13 young people in a restaurant in Tehran for "carrying symbols of Satanism."