Iran announced the arrest of eight women Monday for posting photos to Instagram in which they did not wear state-mandated head scarves, an “un-Islamic act.”
The New York Times reports that the arrests are associated with “Spider II,” a targeted crackdown on Iranians’ recent use of social media.
The operation has reportedly identified 170 Iranians — “including 58 models, 50 photographers and makeup artists” — in addition to the eight arrested on Monday.
Elham Arab, one of the eight models arrested, was shown speaking before Tehran prosecutor Ababs Jafari Dowlatabadi on a state-broadcasted news report Monday morning.
“All people love beauty and fame,” Arab explained. “They would like to be seen, but it is important to know what price they will pay to be seen.”
The news report also announced the arrest of Iranian blogger Mahdi Boutorabi.
Boutorabi manages “persianblog.ir,” which closely covered the country’s disputed 2009 election.