Iran arrests 260 people, including three European citizens, for spreading “Satanism and nudity”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Iranian police have arrested more than 260 people, including three European citizens, on suspicion of spreading Satanism, state news agency IRNA reported Friday.

According to the report, the suspects were arrested on Thursday evening in Shahryar district, west of the capital Tehran, for “spreading the culture of Satanism and nudity.” No further details were given.

It was not clear how such a large number of arrests could have occurred in one night – whether or not the suspects were in one location, gathering or party.

Gatherings where unrelated men and women are seen together are illegal in Iran and considered a sin under Islamic law.

According to the IRNA report, those arrested included 146 men, 115 women and three European citizens, without specifying their nationality. According to IRNA, the suspects were in an “undesirable and obscene situation” with satanic symbols on their clothes and bodies.

Such symbols are common in some piercings, earrings or tattoos, but are banned in Iran. According to the report, drugs and alcohol were seized from the suspects.

Iranian authorities occasionally arrest people who attend mixed-gender parties or drink alcohol.

The consumption of alcohol is also illegal and Muslim men and women who are not related to each other are not allowed to meet or dance with each other in public.