Iran jails online models for up to 6 years

An Iranian court has sentenced 12 models - eight females and four males - to jail ranging from one year to six years for violating the Islamic republic’s decency code and promoting ‘vice’.

The court, in the southwestern city of Shiraz, charged these models – who showcased fashionable wear online with women not covering their hair with the Islamic veil, known as hijab – for “encouraging moral degradation” and “exhibiting Western fashion online and on social media.”

A lawyer told the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) that the accused will also be banned from travel and from employment in fashion-related jobs for two years after they finish their jail terms.

The news comes after Iranian authorities pressed ahead with a clampdown on online modelling, especially on Instagram.

(The article was first published in the Arabic language website for Al Arabiya News Channel)