10 February 2023 , 17:26
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A model has been arrested by police in Iraq as part of a crackdown on publishing "bad and indecent" content on social media.
Local media in Baghdad has reported that Asal Hussam was seized by security police in the Iraqi capital on February 3.
She is reportedly accused of "publishing bad and indecent content" and "publishing videos against public morals" on social media.
Her arrest comes as officials in the Muslim-majority republic allegedly hit back at what they view as "negative" content online.
The Ministry of Interior has reportedly launched a platform called 'Report', where citizens can report "content that offends modesty and destabilises society".
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The online platform is said to have divided opinion in the Middle Eastern country, with some - especially parents - coming out in favour of it.
Asal Hussam had recently posted this photo of her in military uniform (CEN)
She was arrested by security forces in Baghdad, Iraq (CEN)Critics, however, have said it violates public and private freedoms.
It is not clear if Asal's arrest is specifically linked to this video of her posing in a military uniform.
It is similarly unclear if she is being held in custody.
Her social media account appeared to have been taken down at the time of writing.
The Iraqi government has been accused of being cosy with the government in neighbouring Iran, where women are regularly seized for '"immodesty"
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Iraqi authorities are cracking down on content deemed 'indecent' (CEN)Iran is facing ongoing protests over the death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini, who was beaten into a coma and left brain dead after Iran's morality police abducted her from the street.
She had been arrested in Tehran for not complying with with the country's strict rules around the wearing of hijabs.
Masha's death led to huge protests in her home country of Iran, with politicians and celebrities around the world reacting with fury to the tragedy.
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The authoritarian regime has cracked down on protests sentencing dozens of people to death and handing out other brutal punishments.
Critics have said Hussam's arrest violates public and private freedoms (CEN)A student on trial in another Iranian court was sentenced to nine months in jail and 60 lashes for attending a street protest.
The Revolutionary Court of Zahedan found 21-year-old Aida Portaki guilty of "disturbance of public peace and order by attending an illegal gathering".
Aida -an engineering mathematics student at the University of Sistan and Baluchestan - is said to have attended an anti-regime demonstration in Zahedan on November 15.