On Saturday, prominent Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti was detained for voicing support for the country’s three-month-old protest movement triggered by the tragic death of Mahsa Amini in custody. The 38-year-old was arrested “by order of the judicial authority” as she “did not provide documentation for some of her claims” about the ongoing protests, according to state media.
Iran has been rocked by protests triggered by the death of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, after her arrest for an alleged breach of the country’s dress code.
According to the state judiciary’s Mizan Online news website, “some figures and a number of celebrities” including Alidoosti have been arrested “following some baseless comments made regarding the recent events and the publishing of provocative material in support of the street riots”.
Alidoosti, who is best known for her role in the Oscar-winning 2016 film ‘The Salesman’, had condemned the execution of Mohsen Shekari for his involvement in the protests. She shared a statement in a now-deleted Instagram post.
“Your silence means the support of the oppression and the oppressor”, Alidoosti wrote in an Instagram post. “Every international organisation who is watching this bloodshed and not taking action is a disgrace to humanity,” Alidoosti wrote in another post.
On the day of Amini’s death, Alidoosti shared a post on social media, which read, “Damnation to this captivity.” She added, “Don’t forget what Iran’s women go through” and asked people to “say her name, spread the word”.
On November 9, Alidoosti posted an image in support of the protest. She posed without a headscarf, holding a placard that read, “Woman, life, freedom.”
Thousands of people have been detained since the protests erupted in September and 400 have received jail sentences of up to 10 years for their involvement in the unrest. Many have been given death sentences too.
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