Sosha Makani, the goalkeeper for Iranian team, Persepolis and member of Iranian national team, was arrested for posting indecent photos of himself with women not veiled in Islamic Hijab. The picture showed the women dancing with the goalkeeper and some posed as fans.
In Iran, it is an offence punishable by law to post indecent photos online. This law is backed up by the Iranian Cyber Law. This law was enforced in a bid to control the public and private lives of the citizens by the Iranian Government. The government also prohibits mingling with the opposite sex and unrelated couples.
The law regarding Internet crimes in Iran says “If someone directly posts indecent photos of himself or others online, then a crime has been committed. Those who are caught posting indecent photos face legal action. Also, any person who posts or publishes pictures of others on the Internet without their permission, in such a way that causes them harm or disrepute, will be punishable from 91 days to two years in prison or fined from five million rials (about $168) to 40 million rials (about $1340) or both.”
Howver, goalkeeper Makani has since denied posting these pictures, claiming that his social media accounts were hacked, and somehow the hacker managed to acquire the photos and shared them.
He faces up to 2-years in jail if found guilty.
Makani’s lawyer, Behnam Ali-Mohammadi, said that the presiding Judge, Judge Hosseinzadeh has asked the Iranian Cyber Police (FATA) to investigate the case.
These are the pictures that resulted in his arrest:
