Iran has arrested a Culture Ministry official after people danced in public in the northeastern city of Mashhad, the judiciary said on April 19.

Deputy prosecutor Hassan Heydari told the judiciary’s Mizanonline news agency on April 19 that the head of the department of Islamic guidance in Mashhad was arrested for “undermining public decency and disrespecting the laws.”

A video of the April 17 event posted online showed young men and women dancing and enjoying a performance by a singer.

Hard-liners in Mashhad expressed outrage over the video and called for action against those who authorized the event.

Islamic law enforced in Iran prohibits public dancing. The mingling of unrelated men and women is also banned.

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