Iran arrests woman for Instagram dancing

IRAN has arrested a teenage girl who posted dance videos on Instagram and attracted tens of thousands of followers.

State TV broadcast a video in which Maedeh Hojabri (inset), an 18-year-old gymnast, acknowledged breaking moral norms but insisted that had not been her intention and said she was only trying to gain followers.

Local news website Shabooneh said Ms Hojabri and three others were detained on similar charges in recent weeks before being freed on bail.

She had posted around 300 videos on her account, many of which showed her dancing in both

Iranian and Western styles. Ms Hojabri also appeared without the obligatory Islamic headscarf.

Her performances had thousands of followers on various accounts with her name on them, ranging from 12,000 to 66,000 followers.

Iranian police have said they plan to shut down similar accounts on Instagram and the judiciary is considering blocking access to the site. Iran has already blocked access to many social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the Telegram messaging app. Millions of Iranians continue to use the sites through proxies.