Watchdog

Iranian authorities have arrested eight people involved in allegedly producing "obscene" music videos.

Mizan Online, a news agency controlled by Iran's powerful judiciary, quoted Tehran prosecutor general Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi on May 28 as saying that the eight were arrested last week in Tehran. They were not identified by name.

He said the videos were "broadcast on a famous anti-revolutionary television channel," an apparent reference to a foreign-based channel in Persian. Dozens of Persian-language television channels, all based outside Iran, are broadcast on satellite.

Dowlatabadi said a special court for media and culture will review the case and consider raising charges against the eight.

There were no details on the content of the videos. In Iran, it is considered "obscene" and un-Islamic if a woman is filmed singing without a headscarf or together with a man.

The arrests come only days after more than 30 students who partied at a graduation ceremony in northern Iran were arrested and given 99 lashes each for violating the Islamic republic's morality code.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP

Kazakh authorities say individuals recently arrested for taking part or calling for unsanctioned mass protests are facing charges of inciting ethnic discord and of attempting to seize power by force.

The Prosecutor-General's Office made the announcement on May 27, after hundreds of activists were detained ahead of nationwide protests against new legislation on the privatization of agricultural land planned for May 21.

Many activists have been released, but a number of them were fined or sent to prison for 10-15 days. Others were sent to pretrial detention as criminal charges against them are pending.

On May 5, President Nursultan Nazarbaev imposed a moratorium on the implementation of the controversial law until 2017, but critics of the legislation pledged to continue the protest movement afterward.

Based on reporting by nur.kz and Kazinform