Pharrell Williams has expressed his sadness at the arrests in Iran of six people after a video was published on Youtube, showing the group ancing to his No.1 single, 'Happy'.
News of the arrests spread yesterday (21 May 2014), and Pharrell Williams took to Facebook to speak out against the actions by Iranian police forces. The six were later made to apologise for their actions on television in Iran.
"It is beyond sad that these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness," he wrote on his Facebook page.
The video has been watched thousands of times since it was first published on YouTube, and one of the creators, Reihane Taravati spoke on her personal Facebook page of her excitement at the response, before her arrest this week.
"People of Tehran are happy! Watch and Share Our Happiness!," she wrote. "Let the world hear us! we are happy and we deserve to be!"
An official statement from Iranian police on the matter reads:
"After a vulgar clip which hurt public chastity was released in cyberspace, police decided to identify those involved in making that clip.
"Following a series of intelligence and police operations and after coordinating with the judiciary, all the suspects were identified and arrested."