Iran has arrested two notable actors for expressing solidarity with the protest movement and publicly removing their headscarves in an apparent gesture of disobedience against the regime, according to state television on Sunday.
Prosecutors detained Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi after they were summoned in a probe into their “provocative” behavior “According to the state-run IRNA news agency, social media posts and media activities were involved.
More than two months of women-led protests in Iran have shaken the clerical leadership, sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman arrested by morality police in Tehran. The protests are described as “riots” by authorities in the Islamic republic. It blames the country’s adversaries in the West for inciting them.
Ghaziani, an outspoken critic of the crackdown on protestors, was arrested on charges of instigating and assisting in the “riots.” “as well as interacting with opposition media, according to IRNA. The 52-year-old actress had previously stated that she had been summoned by the judiciary. Also, she subsequently posted a video on Instagram of herself removing the required headscarf.
The video, which appears to have been shot at a shopping mall, shows Ghaziani standing bareheaded in front of the camera without saying anything, before turning around and tying her hair into a ponytail. She accused the “child-killer” Iranian government of “murdering” more than 50 children in a post last week.
‘Oppressed people’s voice’
According to IRNA, Riahi was later arrested in the same investigation. The actor, 60, who has appeared in a number of award-winning films and is also known for her charitable work, gave an interview to London-based Iran International TV, a regime-hating outlet, without wearing a hijab in September.
She had stated her support for the protests that have rocked Iran after Mahsa Amini’s killing. She added her opposition to the mandatory hijab. Ghaziani was among eight people called by prosecutors over “provocative” remarks. This is according to the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website “social media material
They also included Yahya Golmohammadi, coach of Tehran football club Persepolis FC, who had harshly criticized Iranian national team players for failing to “convey the voice of oppressed people to the ears of the government.” “.
The remark occurred after the national football team met with President Ebrahim Raisi last week. This was before their World Cup performance which began on Sunday in Qatar. Mizan claimed that other well-known performers, such as Mitra Hajjar and Baran Kosari, had also been summoned.
Alidoosti has sworn to return to her birthplace at “any cost.” “, declaring that she would cease working to support the relatives of those murdered or detained during the protest crackdown. Even before Amini’s death, Iranian film leaders were under siege.
Mohammad Rasoulof and Jafar Panahi, both award-winning filmmakers, remain detained after being arrested earlier this year. Taraneh Alidoosti is one of Iran’s best-known actors still living in the country. She posted an image of herself without the mandatory headscarf on social media earlier this month.
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