TEHRAN: Authorities detained Taraneh Alidoosti, star of “The Salesman” which won an Academy Award for best foreign language film in 2016, after she voiced support for the protests and posted a photo of herself without a head scarf with a sign reading “Woman, life, freedom” – a main slogan of demonstrators.
“Alidoosti, who did not provide documents backing up some of her claims, was arrested hours ago by an order of the judicial authority,” the official news agency IRNA quoted a judiciary statement as saying.
Alidoosti was the latest of dozens of artists, journalists and lawyers detained over the past three months for speaking out against a violent security crackdown on the protesters, some of whom have been released on bail.
She is regarded as one of the most influential Iranian actors of her generation, and her arrest is a sign that the state wants to crack down on celebrities, artists and sports personalities who have used their platform to challenge the regime.
According to the activist HRANA news agency, 495 protesters had been killed as of Friday, including 68 minors. Sixty-two members of the security forces have also been killed. It said 18,450 people are estimated to have been arrested.
In November, Taraneh Alidoosti had posted a picture of herself on Instagram without a headscarf to express support for nationwide anti-government demonstrations, another sign that the protest movement is gaining support from all layers of society.
The pro-reform artist held up a sign in the Instagram post which read “Woman, Life, Freedom” in Kurdish, a popular slogan in the demonstrations
