Tehran - Iran has arrested more than 200 western music fans attending a rock concert on grounds they were breaking the country's strict Islamic sharia law, local media and witnesses said on Sunday.
A witness said police raided the concert as it was going to end late on Wednesday night near the town of Karaj, about 50km west of the capital.
"Police detained the young people who had gathered to enjoy music in a private orchard," said the witness, who requested anonymity for fear of government retaliation.
Calls to authorities were not immediately returned on Sunday, but the public prosecutor in Karaj, Ali Farhadi, said Saturday that about 230 people were arrested during the underground concert, which he described as "satanic".
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| Concert organisers were not available for comment |
"Most of them were wealthy young people who were not aware of the satanic nature of the concert," Farhadi told state television.
"A female singer, who was performing, and some rock and rap music bands were among the detained," Farhadi told television. He said concert organisers had told young people to attend if they were eager to learn how "devil worshippers" perform music.
Local media said organisers hid several cameras to tape the attendants' behaviour at the concert and later blackmail them. The reports also said police confiscated scores of bottles of alcohol and large quantities of drugs.
Boys and girls mingled and danced together during the concert, and some of the women were not wearing the modest clothing and Islamic headscarf required by law, media also said.
Concert organisers were not available for comment.
Iranian authorities have repeatedly warned in recent weeks that they would crackdown on what they describe as "immoral behaviour", including drinking alcohol, women dancing with unrelated men or not wearing a headscarf.
The concert participant who witnessed the police raid said many of the detainees have been released on bail Saturday and Sunday.
Holding mixed parties or concerts without permission is forbidden by law in Iran since the 1979 Revolution that brought hardline Shi'a Muslim clerics to power. Cultural officials are assigned to confront Rock, Rap and Heavy Metal music.
However, the number of underground music bands is deemed to be increasing in this country where the youth constitutes a large part of the population. - Sapa-AP
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