Status: 12/17/2022 8:32 p.m
The regime in Iran is once again taking action against the country’s film industry: the internationally renowned actress Taraneh Alidoosti has been arrested. She had expressed solidarity with the protest movement several times in the past few months.
Iranian authorities have arrested one of the country’s most famous actresses in connection with the anti-government demonstrations. State media reported that Taraneh Alidoosti was accused of spreading falsehoods about the nationwide protests. This usually carries a long prison sentence.
Solidarity with convicts
Alidoosti had repeatedly expressed solidarity with the protest movement in the online networks that had been triggered by the death of the young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in September in custody of the vice squad. The actress had also recently denounced the execution of the young demonstrator Mohsen Schekari. “Any international organization watching this bloodbath and not responding is a disgrace to humanity,” she wrote on Instagram about the execution.
Shekari was executed on December 9th. An Iranian court sentenced him to death for allegedly blocking a road in Tehran and attacking a member of the security forces with a machete during anti-government protests. Alidoosti has now been arrested because she was unable to prove her criticism, wrote the Irna news agency.
Movie was banned
Last month, Alidoosti posted a photo of herself without the headscarf, which is mandatory in Iran, on her Instagram page, publicly showing solidarity with the new women’s movement and the protests that have been going on for three months. In doing so, she jeopardized her career and was therefore praised for her courage at home and abroad.
Alidoosti is one of the most internationally successful actresses in Iran. Her best-known films include the dramas The Salesman and All About Elly, both directed by two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi. This year she premiered her latest film “Leila’s Brothers” at the Cannes Film Festival. Public showings of the film in Iranian cinemas have been banned by the Ministry of Culture.
Protests with many deaths
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.
The demonstrations are becoming one of the greatest challenges facing Iran’s theocracy. Two other well-known actresses, Hengameh Ghasiani and Katajun Riahi, were also arrested for expressing solidarity with the protesters on social media. Both have since been released. International award-winning directors Mohammed Rasulof and Jafar Panahi remain behind bars.