Asghar Farhadi, an Iranian director, called for Taraneh Alidoosti’s release on Tuesday after the actor was detained for aiding the three-month protest movement. Taraneh has appeared in four of Asghar’s films.
According to state media, 38-year-old Alidoosti was detained on Saturday after posting a number of social media posts endorsing the demonstrations caused by Mahsa Amini’s killing, including taking off her headscarf and criticizing the execution of activists.
The Oscar-winning director Farhadi, who famously cast Alidoosti in his film “The Salesman,” defended the well-known performer, claiming that she was imprisoned solely for her “justified support” of Iranian citizens.
Alidoosti is one of the most prominent figures yet arrested in the Iranian authorities’ crackdown that has seen the detention of lawyers, cultural figures, journalists and campaigners.
“She is in prison for her rightful support of her fellow countrymen and her opposition to the unjust sentences being issued,” director Farhadi said on Instagram.
“If showing such support is a crime, then tens of millions of people of this land are criminals.”
Since Amini’s murder in detention on September 16 following her arrest by the morality police for allegedly breaking Iran’s severe clothing codes for women, protests have rocked the Islamic nation.
Since the start of the widespread disturbance, at least 14,000 people have been detained, according to a report released by the UN last month.
The United States on Tuesday condemned Alidoosti’s arrest as “part of the regime’s effort to sow fear and suppress these peaceful protests.”
“We call on Iranian authorities to cease the arbitrary detentions and to stop denying the Iranian people their fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of expression and the freedom of peaceful assembly,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in Washington.
“We’ll be watching how the regime treats Ms. Alidoosti and all those it has detained arbitrarily,” he said.
