Iran arrested Ali Sabouri, the host and producer of the chat show ‘Midnight, along with several other production staff, alleging the broadcast had aired “immoral” content, according to Iranian media reports from earlier this week.
Sabouri initially denied his arrest, according to BBC Farsi, but reports from Monday indicate he is out on bail. His staff also released a video apologizing for the "immoral sequences of the program."
The episode that saw Sabouri’s crew in legal trouble with the regime authorities was set in cyberspace, a sphere that has become particularly touchy since the Iran war, according to dissident media reports.
'Immoral' content sees Iranian hosts arrested
Parts of this program included double-edged jokes, unconventional speech, and behavior outside of public etiquette, according to Shargh Daily.
The Judiciary News Agency called the program's content "contrary to moral and social issues" and confimed the arrest of seven staff members.
The judiciary’s official outlet, Mizan Online, accused the program of broadcasting "content that violates moral and social norms in order to be seen."
“After filing a legal case against the mentioned elements and stopping the mentioned program, the investigator of the case released some of the elements by issuing appropriate bail until the case is heard in court, but some other elements are still in detention,” the outlet confirmed.