International film stars call for release of actress Taraneh Alidoosti

by

AFP

Hundreds of names from the international film industry called this Wednesday (21) for the release of Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, 38, arrested in her country for supporting the protest movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian of Kurdish origin. 22-year-old on September 16 after being detained in Tehran by the morality police.

Actors Emma Thompson, Penélope Cruz, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen and directors Ken Loach, Pedro Almodóvar and Mike Leigh are among around 500 workers and industry personalities who signed an open letter demanding the release of the Iranian star.

“As members of the international artistic community, we demand the immediate release of actress, mother and activist Taraneh Alidoosti, captured on December 17, 2022 and currently in custody at Evin Prison, Iran, where several other politicians are also being held,” says the letter.

According to the official press, Taraneh Alidoosti was arrested last Saturday (17), after making a series of publications on social networks supporting the wave of protests and condemning the execution of demonstrators.

The actress is the most prominent personality arrested by the regime in connection with the protest movement that has rocked Iran for three months. Lawyers, journalists and activists were also detained. “Iranian authorities strategically chose to arrest Taraneh before Christmas to ensure her international peers were distracted,” the letter notes.

“But we are not distracted. We are outraged. Taraneh Alidoosti, like all citizens of Iran, has the right to freedom of expression (…) We stand in solidarity with her and demand her immediate release and her safe return to her family.”

The open letter is released after filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who directed Taraneh in “The Apartment” (2016), demanded on Instagram the release of the actress. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2017.

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