Movie Star Detained in Iran Is Out on Bail

Taraneh Alidoosti has been accused of posting 'inflammatory content'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 17, 2022 1:25 PM CST
Updated Jan 4, 2023 6:01 PM CST
Iran Arrests Leading Actress After Post About Protests
Taraneh Alidoosti, center, holds bunches of flowers as she poses for a photo among her friends after being released from Evin prison in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023.   (Gisoo Faghfouri, Sharghdaily, via AP)
UPDATE Jan 4, 2023 6:01 PM CST

One of Iran's most famous movie stars was released on bail Wednesday after spending nearly three weeks in a Tehran prison. Taraneh Alidosti was arrested on Dec. 17 for "posting inflammatory content" after she expressed solidarity with protesters, the BBC reports. In an Instagram post before her arrest, the star of Oscar-winning movie The Salesman condemned the first execution of a protester. The 38-year-old also posted a picture of herself without a headscarf. Her hair was uncovered when she posed for a photo with friends outside the Evin prison Wednesday. Protests erupted in September after the death of a young woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly.

Dec 17, 2022 1:25 PM CST

Iranian authorities arrested one of the country's most famous actresses on charges of spreading falsehoods about nationwide protests gripping the country, state media said Saturday. The report by IRNA said Taraneh Alidoosti, star of the Oscar-winning movie The Salesman, was detained a week after she made a post on Instagram expressing solidarity with the first man recently executed for reputed crimes committed during the nationwide protests. IRNA also said several other Iranian celebrities had "been summoned by the judiciary body over publishing provocative content." It did not say how many or provide further details, the AP reports.

According to the report published on the state media's official Telegram channel, Alidoosti was arrested because she did not provide "any documents in line with her claims." In her post, the 38-year-old actress said: ''His name was Mohsen Shekari. Every international organization who is watching this bloodshed and not taking action, is a disgrace to humanity." Shekari was executed earlier this month after being charged by a court with blocking a street in Tehran and attacking a member of the security forces with a machete. Last week, Iran executed a second prisoner, Majidreza Rahnavard, in connection with the protests. Rahnavard's body was left hanging from a construction crane as a gruesome warning to others. Iranian authorities alleged Rahnavard stabbed two members of its paramilitary force.

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Alidoosti has made at least three posts on her Instagram account expressing solidarity with protesters since the demonstrations broke out in September. Her account, which had some 8 million followers, has been suspended. Iran has been rocked by protests since the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by the morality police. Alidoosti has previously criticized the Iranian government and its police force. in June 2020, she was given a suspended five-month prison sentence after she criticized the police on Twitter in 2018 for assaulting a woman who had removed her headscarf. Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi, two other prominent actresses in Iran, were arrested by authorities for expressing solidarity with protesters on social media. Both have been released.

(More Taraneh Alidoosti stories.)

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