As protests spread across the nation, official media announced that Iran has detained a well-known actor who in a video appeared to remove her headscarf in public in an apparent gesture of defiance.
The death in detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman of Kurdish descent who had been detained by the morality police in Tehran, set off more than two months of rallies spearheaded by women that have rocked Iran’s religious authorities. Mahsa Amini had been arrested by the morality police.
Authorities in the Islamic republic refer to the demonstrations as “riots” and charge Western adversaries for instigating them.
The media reported that Hengameh Ghaziani, an outspoken opponent of the crackdown on protestors, had been detained for instigating and supporting the “riots” as well as for interacting with opposition media.
The 52-year-old movie diva posted a video on Instagram of herself taking off the required hijab after previously indicating that she had been called by the court.
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She tweeted late on Saturday, “Maybe this will be my final post.”
From from point on, whatever happens, know that, as always, I will stand behind the Iranian people till the end of my days.
Ghaziani is seen in the video, which appears to have been shot in a commercial area, standing in front of the camera without speaking before turning around and pulling her hair back into a ponytail.
She charged the Iranian regime with “murdering” more than 50 children in a post from last week.
Ghaziani was one of eight persons who were called before prosecutors for “provocative” content uploaded on social media, said the judiciary’s Mizan Online news website.
Among them was Yahya Golmohammadi, the head coach of Tehran’s Persepolis FC, who had harshly criticised Iranian national team players for failing to “convey the voice of oppressed people to the ears of the government.”
The comment came after the national football team last week met President Ebrahim Raisi ahead of their appearance at the World Cup, which began Sunday in Qatar.
Mizan said other prominent actors including Mitra Hajjar and Baran Kosari had also been summoned.
Earlier this month Taraneh Alidoosti, one of Iran’s best-known actors remaining in the country, posted an image of herself on social media without the mandatory headscarf.
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