PARIS: Celebrities and rights groups called on Iran on Sunday to free actor Taraneh Alidoosti, one of the most prominent figures yet arrested in its three-month crackdown on protests.

Alidoosti, 38, was arrested on Saturday, official media said, after making a string of social media posts supporting the protest movement — including removing her headscarf and condemning the execution of protesters.Several prominent figures — including other actors and footballers — have been detained in connection with the protests. Alidoosti has considerable international renown, performing in award-winning films by director Asghar Farhadi, including the Oscar-winning 2016 film “The Salesman”.

Somayeh Mirshamsi, assistant director on “The Salesman”, said Alidoosti had called her father to say she was being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, run by the intelligence ministry.

Alidoosti asked her father for the delivery of medicines, and her family are “worried” and her health, Mirshamsi wrote on Twitter.

‘Power of women’s voices’

Prominent Iranian cinema figures gathered outside Evin prison, Iranian daily Shargh reported, including co-stars from “Leila’s Brothers”, a film which Alidoosti went to Cannes Film Festival earlier this year to promote.

The group included actor Payman Maadi and director Saeed Roustayi, as well as her father Hamid, who played football for Iran in the 1970s.

Her arrest also generated anger on social media, with exiled actor Golshifteh Farahani calling her “the brave actress of Iran” and demanding her release.

On Nov 9, Alidoosti posted an image of herself without a headscarf, holding a paper with the main slogan of the protests: “Woman, life, freedom”.

In a show of support after her arrest, former French football star turned actor Eric Cantona reposted that image on Instagram with the hashtag “#freedom”.

In Canada, Cameron Bailey, head of the Toronto International Film Festival, called Alidoosti “one of Iran’s most talented and acclaimed actors”.

“I hope she’s free to keep representing the strength of Iranian cinema soon”, Bailey wrote.

The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said women including Alidoosti “are being arrested and jailed in Iran for refusing to wear forced hijabs”.

“The power of women’s voices terrify the Islamic republic’s ruler”, it added.

Authorities in Tehran on Sunday also questioned 26-year-old singer Amir Maghare of the hugely popular Macan Band pop group.

The judiciary’s Mizan Online news website said Maghare had “left the prosecutor’s office after providing explanations, receiving a warning and making a commitment”.

Daily sports newspaper Khabar Varzeshi reported that Ashkan Dejagah, 36, a former football player who also has German citizenship, has been barred from leaving the country “after being seen in protests... in Germany”.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2022