December 23, 2016
The Pasdaran crackdownon partygoers has netted about 400 people this year, although there are certainly a lot more than 400 partygoers across Iran.
It is generally believed that the Pasdaran are making a conscious effort to discourage partying in the Islamic Republic by raiding parties, arresting people who are drinking alcohol and ignoring the dress code, and publicizing their arrests in an effort to embarrass them and discourage parties.
The press is commonly notified and photographers brought in to take pictures of the partygoers in handcuffs.
The Iran Times, however, has found press coverage of only five such raids in 2016, with 384 people reported arrested. These have mostly been large parties, not just some informal gathering in someone’s living room.
Here are the reports the’Iran Times has tabulated with the city where the arrests have been made and the number arrested:
January Mashhad 84
May Graduation 30
June Tehran 132
December Cheneran 23
December Tehran 120
No city was identified for the graduation party. Cheneran is near Mashhad.
There are presumably other party arrests in the provinces whose news has not made the national newspapers.
Col. Majid Azarkish, commander of the Pasdaran in Chen-eran, said his office received a call about a large party in that city December 5. He said he sent a group of Basijis out to observe the site. When they confirmed what was going on, police and Basijis raided the villa and found partygoers “in a disgusting state” with five empty bottles of alcoholic beverages and a satellite receiver.
The December 13 raid on a Tehran party yielded 15 bottles of alcohol.
