Iranian sex tape scandal

The so-called Iranian sex tape scandal involves the public outcry and judicial proceedings against Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, an actress who appeared in the soap opera Nargess, and an associate producer, accused of appearing together in an explicit sex tape, allegedly filmed for private consumption with a camcorder, a serious crime under Iranian law. The actress denies that the tape is of her, while the film producer reportedly has claimed that it is him. The scandal virtually ended the actress's career; she was banned from Iranian films in 2006.

The case served as a catalyst to prompt the lower house of the Parliament of Iran to pass a bill making the production of sexually explicit media, even for private consumption, an offense punishable by death.

The tape graphically depicts twenty minutes of sex between a woman and a man in a small room with a narrow bed. The man who admitted to his role in the tape is an assistant film producer who was engaged to an Iranian soap opera actress at the time, whom he claimed is the woman in the tape. Neither of the suspects were named by the Islamic Republic News Agency, the state-run news agency in Tehran. The man was referred to in the Iranian media as "Mr. X". The actress denied that the woman in the film is her, and accused her ex-fiancé of releasing a pornographic film featuring himself and a lookalike to damage her career.

The tape was reportedly made in 2004, although it only came to prominence in early-2006. It has seen wide distribution on DVD and over the internet in Iran. An estimated 100,000 copies are in circulation, grossing $4 million, a record in the history of the Iranian film industry. The assistant film producer appearing in the tape has said that he accidentally forgot to delete the footage from his hard drive when he sold his laptop.

The tape and the publicity surrounding it caused a massive scandal in Iran, such that Iran's fundamentalist clerics have labeled it a "national shame".Tehran's hardline chief prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi has even intervened, ordering a special investigation. Iranian politician Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi also became involved, demanding Ebrahimi (but not Mr. X) be stoned to death. Ebrahimi was interrogated at length by the Iranian authorities, but was never charged with any crime. While Narges was on hiatus while the scandal broke, producers of two films in which Ebrahimi starred were advised by Iranian authorities not to release the films while the investigation was ongoing. As of 2010, these films still had not been released. One of them, Journey to Hidalou was reviewed for compliance with Islamic law by Javad Shamaqdari, Iran's deputy culture minister for film. He said that the film was a good one, but could not be released with Ebrahimi in it, and suggested that her scenes be re-shot with a different actress. The film's director, Mojataba Raei, has reportedly refused to re-shoot Ebrahimi's scenes. Shamaqdari suggested it would take a religious fatwa to approve Ebrahimi's films for release.

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Wikipedia