Iran arrested two well-known film actresses on Sunday (20) after they showed solidarity with the acts that took over the country and removed the Islamic headscarf in public, according to the state agency IRNA.
Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi were arrested for posting “provocative content” on the internet, in addition to taking off their hijab – a headscarf – in public.
On Saturday (19), Ghaziani published a video on Instagram warning in writing that it could be his last publication. In the record, the actress appears in silence, turns around and puts her hair in a ponytail. “If anything happens to me, know that I will be with the Iranian people until my last breath,” she wrote, who last week accused the government of murdering more than 50 children.
Riahi was detained in the scope of the same investigation. Known for her performance in award-winning films and for her charity work, in September she gave an interview to International Television of Iran – based in London and rejected by the Iranian government – ​​without wearing a hijab and with her hair showing.
Since September, the regime has faced demonstrations over the death of the young Kurd Mahsa Amini. Visiting Tehran with her family, she was detained by the so-called moral police for allegedly not wearing the hijab correctly and died after being taken to the police station. The government claims that her death was due to Amini’s heart problems, a version that the family and activists contest.
According to the website specialized in news of the Iranian judiciary, Mizan Online, Ghaziani and seven other people were accused of publishing “provocative content”. Among those summoned is Yahya Golmohammadi, coach of the Persepolis football club, who sharply criticized Iran’s national team players for not “bringing the voice of the oppressed people to the ears of the authorities” at the World Cup.
The comment came after the squad for the tournament met with the country’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, before the team’s debut at the World Cup. On Thursday (17th), striker Alireza Jahanbakhsh said that the focus of the team in Qatar would be the competition, not political issues.
This Monday (21), however, in the debut against England, the players were silent during the execution of the national anthem, while the crowd booed. Sardar Azmoun, who started the match on the bench, was one of the athletes who used their social media to denounce the country’s repression.
Also according to Mizan, other important actresses, such as Mitra Hajjar and Baran Kosari, were summoned to testify. In the first weeks of November, Taraneh Alidoosti, one of the most famous stars of Iranian cinema, also published an image in which she appeared without wearing a hijab.
Film figures were already under pressure before the wave of protests. Directors Mohammad Rasoulof and Jafar Panahi were arrested earlier this year, also on political charges.
According to the NGO Human Rights Activists in Iran, 402 people have already died during the acts. Among the victims, according to the organization, are 58 children and adolescents. Another 16,800 people were arrested, and six sentenced to death for alleged crimes linked to the demonstrations.
The NGO Amnesty International, in turn, points to a higher figure: 21 demonstrators arrested for crimes that may result in the application of capital punishment. State media only report that 46 members of the country’s security forces died during the demonstrations.
On Saturday, thousands of Iranians protested at about 20 colleges in Tehran and other cities such as Isfahan, Tabriz and Shiraz. At the end of the week alone, activists recorded the death of at least three protesters in the northwest of the country – they would have been the target of fire by security forces.
The Islamic regime now fears the acts will gain support from unions and other labor organizations. It was precisely a combination of mass protests and strikes by traders and oil industry workers that contributed to the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979.
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