CAIRO (AP) December,19 – Iranian authorities arrested one of the country’s most famous actresses on Saturday, state media said.
IRNA reports that Tarane Aridosti, the star of the Oscar-winning film The Salesman, posted a post on Instagram expressing solidarity with the first man to be recently executed for a crime allegedly committed during a protest. He was arrested a week after posting on
The announcement is the latest in a series of arrests of celebrities including footballers, actors and influencers, now in their third month, in response to their open support for anti-government demonstrations.
Aridosti was arrested because she “failed to produce documents to support her claims,” according to a report published on the official channel of state media Telegram.
Several other Iranian celebrities have also been “summoned by judicial authorities for publishing provocative content” and some have been arrested, the report said. No further details were provided.
In her post, the 38-year-old actress said:
“His name was Mohsen Shekari. International organizations that see this bloodshed and do not act are a disgrace to humanity. ”
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Shekari was executed on December 9 after being charged by an Iranian court with blocking a road in Tehran and attacking a member of the country’s security forces with a machete.
In November, two other well-known Iranian actresses, Henga Megagiani and Katayun Riahi, were arrested by authorities for expressing solidarity with protesters on her social media. Iranian footballer Volya Ghafori was also arrested last month for “insulting the national football team and propaganda against the government”. All three have been released.
Since September, Alidosti has openly expressed solidarity with her protesters in at least three posts on Instagram. Her account, which has nearly 8 million followers, has been banned.
Iran last week executed a second prisoner, Majidreza Ranabad, in connection with the protests. Rahnavard’s body was left hanging from a construction crane as a cruel warning to others. Iranian officials alleged that Rahnavard stabbed two of his paramilitary members.
He was executed less than a month after Shekhali and Ranabad were indicted, highlighting Iran’s current swift execution of death sentences imposed on protest-related crime charges. Activists say at least a dozen people have been sentenced to death in closed-door hearings. Iran is one of the world’s leading executioners.
Iran has been rocked by protests since the death of his 22-year-old girlfriend Mahsa Amini on Sept. 16 after being arrested by the moral police. The protests have since evolved into one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s theocracy spawned by the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Alidoosti had already criticized the Iranian government and its police before this year’s protests.
In June 2020, she was given a five-month suspended sentence after criticizing police on Twitter for assaulting a woman who took off her headscarf in 2018.
At least 495 people were killed in a crackdown by security forces during the demonstrations, according to a group that has been monitoring the protests since they began, according to Iranian human rights activists. More than 18,200 people were arrested by the authorities.
Other famous films in which Aridosti has appeared are about a beautiful city and Ellie.
