One of Iran’s most famous actresses has been arrested and charged with “spreading falsehoods”, state media said.
Taraneh Alidoosti, star of the Oscar-winning film The Salesman, was arrested a week after posting on Instagram about the first man to be executed during ongoing nationwide protests, according to reports.
The 38-year-old star wrote: “His name was Mohsen Shekari. Every international organization that watches this bloodshed and takes no action is a shame on humanity.”
According to IRNA, the official news agency of the Islamic Republic, she was arrested after failing to provide “any documents in line with her claims.”
His Instagram account, which has more than eight million followers, has been suspended.
Taraneh Alidoosti at the Leila’s Brothers premiere in Cannes in May. Photo: AP
Protests swept Iran in September after the death in police custody of a 22-year-old. mahsa aminiwho was arrested for not wearing her veil.
Since then, the protests have become one of the most serious challenges to the Iranian regime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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Why are Iranians protesting?
Mr. Shekari was executed on December 9 after being accused of blocking a street in Tehran and attacking a member of the country’s security forces with a machete.
Last week, Iran executed a second prisonerMajidreza Rahnavard, in relation to the protests.
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Iranian authorities alleged that Rahnavard stabbed two members of his paramilitary force.
In November, Alidoosti uploaded a photo of herself without a headscarf, holding a sign that read “Woman. Life. Freedom.” in Kurdish, a rallying cry used by the women protesters.
He boycotted the 2016 Oscars ceremony over former US President Donald Trump’s decision to ban travel to several Middle Eastern countries, including Iran.
