Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti was arrested in connection with the protests in Iran on Saturday evening. According to the pro-government news agency Tasnim, the 38-year-old was accused of “spreading misinformation and supporting counter-revolutionary circles”.
The internationally renowned actress Taraneh Alidoosti has been arrested against the background of the protests in Iran. The 38-year-old had spread “false and distorted” information and “incited chaos,” the pro-government news agency Tasnim reported on Saturday. Alidoosti has shown his solidarity with the protest movement triggered by the death of young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in September in custody of the vice squad.
Alidoosti was arrested on the orders of the Judicial Authority for failing to provide “documentation to support some of her claims” about the protests, the agency’s official website, Misan Online, reported.
In addition to Alidoosti, other “celebrities” were also interrogated or arrested for “unfounded allegations about recent events and the publication of provocative material in support of the unrest on the streets,” the portal said.
Alidoosti had repeatedly acknowledged the protest movement on the online networks. She also recently denounced the execution of the young demonstrator Mohsen Shekari. “Any international organization that watches this bloodbath and doesn’t respond is a disgrace to humanity,” the actress wrote on Instagram about the execution.
Alidoosti has starred in several films by renowned Iranian director Asghar Farhadi – including The Salesman, which won the 2017 Oscar for Best Non-English Language Film. She also plays the title role in Saeed Roustayi’s Leila and Her Brothers, screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Even before the current wave of protests began, several prominent representatives of the Iranian film industry had been arrested this year, including the internationally award-winning directors Mohammed Rasulof and Jafar Panahi, who remain behind bars.
According to Iranian sources, more than 200 people have been killed in the protests that have been going on since September. International human rights organizations assume more than 450 dead. Thousands of people were arrested. The demonstrations are directed, among other things, against the rigorous clothing regulations for women. Amini, who died after her arrest, was accused of disregarding the rules for wearing a headscarf.
