Recent Arrests in 'Cleaning Up Single Homes' and 'Night Parties' in Semnan and Kerman

Simultaneously, with the arrest of 97 people in Semnan in a plan known as 'Cleaning Up Contaminated Single Homes', the prosecutor of Kerman announced the arrest of 23 individuals at a 'night party', stating that one individual was 'inviting people to participate in this party through his Telegram channel'. According to the Kerman judiciary website, Prosecutor Dadkhoda Salari on Tuesday, June 4, accused the participants of this celebration of 'drinking alcohol' and 'mixed dancing in inappropriate attire', adding that 'we will not allow individuals to hold parties under the guise of clothing boutiques'. The public and revolutionary prosecutor of Kerman also announced that the location of this 'celebration' has been sealed off by the order of the case investigator. Mr. Salari further stated: 'Unfortunately, recent reports from monitoring social media indicate the efforts of certain known individuals to promote this heinous criminal phenomenon.' In Iran, participation in some mixed private celebrations can lead to arrests, and hundreds of reports on this matter have been published in the media over the past 35 years. On May 5 of this year, the 'Mizan' news agency affiliated with the judiciary reported the arrest of 'seven famous cinema actors' at a 'night party' in northern Tehran. In the last days of May, Nabiollah Moslemi, head of the protection and information center of the judiciary in Mazandaran province, reported the arrest of more than 15 lawyers at a 'night party' in the town of Sorkhroud Mahmoudabad in this province. On Tuesday, Mojtaba Ashrafi, the operational deputy commander of the Semnan police, announced the arrest of 87 men and 10 women in a plan known as '48-hour cleaning of contaminated single homes'. According to Mr. Ashrafi, in this plan, from 53 'contaminated' single homes, which had been identified months earlier, 'drugs', 'alcohol', and 'satellite receivers' were discovered, and four vehicles belonging to the 'suspects' were also 'confiscated'. According to the IRNA news agency, he considered the existence of 'contaminated single homes' as 'one of the effective factors in the occurrence of various crimes, especially theft'. The sensitivity of the Islamic Republic officials regarding single homes has increased in recent years, and some officials of the police and judiciary have deemed the existence of these homes as a cause of 'spreading immorality' in society. In this context, the Union of Real Estate Agents announced on January 9, 2010, that renting apartments to singles would be controlled by real estate agents. According to this directive, real estate agencies are required to inquire about the reason for renting for single applicants by reviewing documented evidence of university enrollment or employment cards or business licenses before drafting rental contracts, and if confirmed, to fill out a special form for 'single tenants'.