July 5, 2024
Police have arrested more than 260 people, including three European citizens, on suspicion of spreading satanism, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) has reported. The report said the suspects were arrested May 16 in Shahryar County, west of Tehran, for “spreading the culture of satanism and nudity.” It did not further elaborate. Those arrested “were present in the venue of the Satanism meeting,” surrounded by “logos, signs and symbols of Satanism on their clothes, heads, faces and hair,” it added. Some were “naked.”
Gatherings where unrelated men and women come together are illegal in Iran and considered a sin under Islamic law. IRNA’s report said those arrested included 146 men and 115 women, including three European citizens, without mentioning their nationalities. IRNA said the suspects were caught in an “undesirable and obscene situation” with satanic symbols on their clothes and bodies.
Such symbols are common in some earrings and tattoos, but are prohibited in Iran. The report said drugs and alcohol were confiscated from the suspects. The government said those arrested, except for the event organizer, were released soon after they were booked. A group of Georgian musicians hired to perform at the event were handed over to their embassy.
Raids on so-called “satanist” gatherings are not uncommon in Iran, often targeting parties or concerts with alcohol consumption. In July 2009, police arrested three people in Ardebil over “Satan worship.” In May of the same year, Iranian media said 104 “Satan-worshippers” were arrested in a raid on a concert in Shiraz where people were purportedly drinking alcohol and “sucking blood.”
In 2007, police arrested 230 people in a raid on an illegal rock concert in a garden near Tehran. Authorities have in the past branded rock and heavy metal music concerts as satanist gatherings.
