Taraneh Alidoosti, a popular Iranian actress, was arrested by local authorities on Saturday after she posted messages on social media expressing solidarity with the anti-government protests that have rocked Iran for almost three months.
Ms. Alidoosti, 38 years old, arrested in connection with Which state media? described as “unsubstantiated comments on recent events” and “the publication of provocative material”.
It is one of the highest-level detentions that Iranian authorities have made in an effort to suppress a women-led uprising that began in September. The protests began after the death of a woman. 22 years old, Mahsa Amini, while in the custody of the ethics police on charges that she violated the mandatory rules on headscarves. Iran has faced international condemnation for its violent response to the protests.
In recent weeks, Ms. Alidoosti, whose credits include Academy Award winner of “The Salesman,” gained attention after posting a photo of herself without a hijab while holding a sign showing her support for protesters calling call for an end to clerical dictatorship in Iran.
This month, later The Iranian government announced that they had hanged Mohsen ShekariA 23-year-old prisoner was arrested during the protests that have engulfed the country, Alidoosti urged people to speak out.
“Your silence means supporting the oppressor and the oppressors,” she wrote.
Since Sunday, Ms. Alidoosti’s Instagram the account appears to have been removed from the platform and Her Twitter account seems to have been suspended. Her recent posts are no longer viewable.
In a short Telegram post announcing Alidoosti’s arrest, the state news agency, the Islamic Republic News Agency, said Alidoosti “did not provide documentation” for some of what it described as a her “statement”. She was arrested “by order of the judiciary,” according to the Telegram post.
The state bulletin also said that “several celebrities” had made comments similar to Ms Alidoosti’s “in support of previous street riots.” The Telegram entry said that some of them had been arrested, but did not name anyone other than Ms. Alidoosti.
This is not the first time Alidoosti has expressed her political views. When “The Salesman” was nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of 2016, Ms. Alidoosti said she would boycott Trump’s then-presidential protest ceremony travel ban on citizens from seven countries, five of them predominantly Muslim.
The film went on to win that award.
