Iran 'Happy' filmmakers released after social media outcry

There are unconfirmed reports that sIx young Iranians arrested for making a video tribute to the Pharrell Williams song Happy have been released.

On Wednesday afternoon, following reports of their release, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani tweeted:

It is believed that the tweet relates to the freeing of the six filmmakers and despite it being dated 29/6/2013 the tweet was sent out today.

After their arrest police chief Hossein Safedinia described the clip as “vulgar” and said it had “hurt public chastity”, according to the independent ISNA news agency.

The video, posted to YouTube last month, was watched more than 165,000 times before attracting the attention of the police. It shows six people dancing and singing to the song in different parts of Tehran.

The song was widely shared on social media, and linked to stories in international media such as the Huffington Post and Le Monde.

On Tuesday, a state run television channel broadcast a "confession" by the filmmakers saying they had been “fooled” into making the film. A police officer in the clip said “they were identified in two hours and were all arrested within six hours”.

Pharrell Williams responded to the arrest, saying “it is beyond sad”.

Iranian journalist Golnaz Esfandiari said on Twitter that it is a crime to be happy in Iran.

Social media users have sprung to the defence of the filmmakers, with the hashtag #freehappyIranians attracting more than 6,000 tweets in less than 24 hours.

In an interview last month with Iran Wire, a news site run by Iranian diaspora, one of the filmmakers had said “to conform to the Islamic dress code, we covered our hair with wigs”. They said they made the film, “to tell the world that Iran is a better place than what they think it is”.

By making the video, the young filmmakers were joining a movement that has seen more than 1,600 cover versions of Happy made in over 140 countries.