Iranian TV: Chinese man arrested for posting videos of women

Iranian state TV said on Tuesday that a Chinese man has been arrested for posting videos on social media of his intimate conversations with Iranian women.

The report said the man, who has not been identified by name, was arrested on Monday night by Iranian police and intelligence forces in the central city of Kashan, some 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of the capital, Tehran.

It was not known if he has been charged with anything. A photograph of the alleged suspect, showing him sitting in front of a camera, accompanied the TV report. It was also not clear why he is in Iran, where more than 5,000 Chinese nationals live and work.

The semi-official Mehr news agency reported that the Kashan prosecutor, Rouhollah Dehghan, said the man's social postings had “provoked many reactions from among Iranians", without elaborating.

According to the report, the prosecutor said many private plaintiffs have stepped forward with complaints against the Chinese man.

Iranian officials could not be immediately reached for comment on the case.

Under Islamic laws, men and women who are not related cannot mingle together or be alone in public. Out-of-wedlock relations between the two genders are also illegal in Iran.

The Chinese man's posts and videos have since been removed, a YouTube channel, BaBaKo TV, said. Also, prior to his arrest, a video posting shows him apologising in English for the videos.