Iranian authorities have arrested one of the country’s leading actresses after expressing solidarity with anti-government protesters.
State media said Tarane Alidosti was detained for “spreading lies” about the protest movement that has gripped the country.
In an Instagram post last week, he condemned the execution of a man for his involvement in the protests.
Ms Alidosti is best known for her role in the Oscar-winning film The Salesman.
In his post, the 38-year-old targeted some international organizations for not speaking out against Mohsin Shikari’s execution.
He was executed by authorities after they accused him of being a “rioter” who blocked a main road in Tehran in September and stabbed a member of a paramilitary force.
“His name was Mohsin Shikari. Every international organization that is watching this bloodshed and not taking action is an affront to humanity,” he wrote.
According to JEE News, he was arrested by police for failing to provide “any documents consistent with his claims”.
Her Instagram account, which has more than 8 million followers, was recently taken down.
The 38-year-old is one of Iran’s most successful actresses. He starred in Salesman, which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 2016.
But she has become an outspoken critic of the Iranian government’s efforts to quell nationwide unrest since the start of the protest movement, which began after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September.
In November, she attracted attention after posting a photo of herself on Instagram without a scarf to show solidarity with the protests.
The protest movement has become the most serious challenge since the Iranian regime came to power in the 1979 revolution.
Authorities have already executed two men after being found guilty of “warfare” – roughly translated as “enmity against God”. Under Iranian law, the crime is defined as “causing public insecurity” by threatening life or property with a weapon.
