The two Iranian actresses Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi have been arrested in their home country, according to several media sources citing the Iranian news agency Irna Report. The women were involved in the protests against the regime in Tehran and criticize the authorities’ brutal treatment of the demonstrators.
Ghaziani posted a video on Instagram on Saturday in which she took off her headscarf. “Maybe this is my last entry,” she wrote. “No matter what happens from now on, rest assured that I will stand with the Iranian people to my last breath.” In the previous week, the 52-year-old had already described the Iranian directorate as a “child killer” and accused him of having killed more than 50 children.
Katayoun Riahi, 60, also showed solidarity with the protesters. A few weeks ago she had the UK-based broadcaster Iran International given a TV interview in which she did not wear a headscarf, which is why she too has now been arrested.
Iran has been rocked by protests since the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in September. The 22-year-old was arrested by the moral police because she is said to have worn her headscarf improperly. She died a short time later in hospital. Activists accuse the police of abusing Amini.