A senior judicial official in Iran says police have arrested 17 boys and girls over a water fight at a seaside park in the southern part of the country.
Five of the youths were released immediately. The other 12 were released on bail on August 7 and could face charges of publicly committing "haram" -- a forbidden act -- after they splashed water on each other in the city of Bandar Abbas.
On July 29, several hundred young people took part in a large-scale water battle at a Tehran park, using toy water guns and plastic bottles in an event that was organized on the Facebook social networking website.
Ten of those youths were arrested after photos of the event emerged on Facebook and made their way into mainstream media.
General Ahmad Rouzbahani, head of Iran's morality police, warned that police "will act forcefully" against similar behavior and will not allow such events to happen in public places, or anywhere throughout the country."
compiled from agency reports