Iranian Couple Arrested Over Shopping Mall Marriage Proposal

Iranian police have arrested a couple for "outraging public decency" after they got engaged in front of a crowd at a shopping mall.

Video of the public proposal in the western city of Arak appeared on social media on March 8, showing the pair standing amid rose petals in a heart shape on the floor.

After the proposal, the woman can be seen hugging the man as the crowd cheers.

The deputy police commander of Markazi Province, of which Arak is the capital, said that the couple had been taken into custody for "outraging public decency, which is an influence of the degenerate Western culture," according to the semiofficial Fars news agency.

The official, Mahmud Khalaji, added that the couple had been released on bail.

Islamic law enforced in Iran severely restricts mixing between the genders and displays of public affection.

It also prohibits public dancing and the mingling of unrelated men and women.

In April 2018, the country’s strict rules on public decency received international attention when a Culture Ministry official in the northeastern city of Mashhad was arrested after people were filmed dancing in a local shopping center.

With reporting by the BBC