News Desk
TEHRAN: Iranian authorities have arrested Taraneh Alidoosti, one of the country’s most famous actresses, for supporting and “spreading falsehoods” about the ongoing anti-government protests, state media said.
The actress, best known for her role in the Academy Award winning film The Salesman, in an Instagram post last week, condemned the government for executing a man for being involved in the protests. She also called out international organisations for remaining silent over the execution of Mohsen Shekari.
Authorities had hanged Shekari after accusing him of being a “rioter” who blocked a major road in Tehran in September and injured paramilitary force personnel with a machete.
The state news agency IRNA said in a post on its Telegram account that the 38-year-old was arrested by police for not providing “any documents in line with her claims”.
Her Instagram account having over eight million followers, was also taken down recently.
Ongoing crackdown
Since the outbreak of protests in Iran, Alidoosti has been an outspoken critic of the government’s attempts to suppress the nationwide unrest.
The massive protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September have become one of the toughest challenges faced by the Iranian regime after it came to power in the 1979 revolution.
