The group of six young Iranians who were arrested in May for dancing to Pharrell Williams' hit song "Happy" in a viral video finally know their fate.
On Wednesday, an Iranian court sentenced five of them to 6 months in prison and 91 lashes each, while another was sentenced to one year in prison and 91 lashes, according to the local and independent English-language site Iran Wire.
The sentences, however, are "suspended" for three years, which means the six will remain free unless they are found guilty of a similar offense. After three years, their sentences will become "null and void," according to their lawyer Farshid Rofugaran.
The news of their sentencing was confirmed on Twitter by several people inside of Iran.
اعضای گروه هپی به شش ماه حبس و ۹۱ضربه شلاق محکوم شدند که این حکم سه سال تعلیقی ست و اگر در این مدت جرم دیگری بکنند، این حکم اجرا می شود!— Behnam2k (@behnam2k) September 17, 2014
The other members of the "Happy" video group were sentenced to 6 months+91 lashes, suspended for 3 years #Iran #HumanRights— Persian Banoo (@persianbanoo) September 17, 2014
The director of the video, Sassan Soleimani (or Sasan Solaymani), reportedly treceived the longer sentence of one year in prison.
Sasan Solaymani senteced to 1 yr, suspended for 3 yrs for his part in making the "Happy" in Tehran video #Iran #HumanRights— Persian Banoo (@persianbanoo) September 17, 2014
The six, three men and three women, made headlines around the world in late May, when their viral video got them arrested, and later released. While in prison, they were made to confess on national television.
The reasons behind the arrests were initially unclear, but Negar Mortazavi, an Iranian freelance journalist based in Washington, D.C., told Mashable at the time that it was likely because the video depicted men and women dancing together, and the women were not wearing hijabs.
In fact, the court found them guilty of "participation in the making of a vulgar clip" and "illegitimate relations between members of the group," according to the nonprofit International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
The original video that got the performers in trouble is embedded below.