Taraneh Alidoosti: Iran releases top actress held for supporting protests

Authorities successful Iran person released a apical histrion who was arrested past period aft expressing solidarity with anti-government protesters.

Taraneh Alidoosti was pictured being greeted by friends extracurricular Tehran's Evin prison, her hairsbreadth uncovered.

The 38-year-old prima was freed connected bail aft being accused of "posting inflammatory content".

She had posted a representation connected societal media without a headscarf and condemned the archetypal execution of a protester.

Many Iranian actors, musicians and different celebrities person publically backed the protests against the clerical establishment.

They erupted astir 4 months agone pursuing the decease successful custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old pistillate who was detained by morality constabulary for allegedly wearing her hijab, oregon headscarf, "improperly".

Authorities person portrayed the protests arsenic foreign-backed "riots" and responded with lethal force.

So far, astatine slightest 516 protesters person been killed, including 70 children, and 19,250 others arrested, according to the Human Rights Activists' News Agency (HRANA). It has besides reported the deaths of 68 information personnel.

Two protesters were executed past period aft being convicted of the vaguely-defined nationalist information complaint of "enmity against God".

Human rights groups condemned their trials arsenic gross miscarriages of justice. They were reportedly tortured into confessing and deprived of entree to lawyers of their choosing.

Days earlier her ain apprehension connected 17 December, Ms Alidoosti had urged radical to talk retired successful effect to the execution of the archetypal protester, Mohsen Shekari.

"Every planetary organisation who is watching this bloodshed and not taking enactment is simply a disgrace to humanity," she wrote connected her Instagram account, which had millions of followers earlier it was disabled.

In November, she had posed with her hairsbreadth uncovered, holding a motion saying "Woman, life, freedom" - the main slogan of the protestation movement.

Iran's authorities quality agency, Irna, reported that Ms Alidoosti was arrested for failing to supply "any documents successful enactment with her claims".

Ms Alidoosti is 1 of Iran's astir palmy actresses. She starred successful The Salesman, which won an Academy Award successful 2016 for the Best International Feature Film.

She has paused her vocation to enactment the families of protesters killed successful the crackdown and has antecedently vowed to stay wrong Iran astatine immoderate price.

Two different Iranian actresses, Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi, were arrested successful November for supporting the protests. They person besides been released connected bail.

In a abstracted improvement connected Wednesday, the Iranian authorities vowed to springiness a "decisive response" aft the French satirical mag Charlie Hebdo published a bid of cartoons mocking Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a Shia Muslim cleric who has the last accidental connected each authorities matters.

Charlie Hebdo said it had received much than 300 specified cartoons and "thousands of threats" aft it launched a contention past period successful bid to "support the conflict of Iranians who are warring for their freedom".

"The insulting and violative enactment of a French work successful releasing cartoons against [Iran's] spiritual and governmental authorization volition not beryllium near without an effectual and decisive response," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian tweeted.

Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Court upheld decease sentences handed to 2 men who were convicted of "corruption connected Earth" implicit the alleged sidesplitting of a paramilitary subordinate successful Karaj successful November.