Iranian actress arrested over protests
Iran arrested a prominent actress on Saturday after she voiced support for the three-month-old protest movement triggered by the death of a woman in custody, the judiciary said. Taraneh Alidoosti, 38, was arrested "by order of the judicial authority" as she "did not provide documentation for some of her claims" about the protests, reported the judiciary's Mizan Online news website. It added "some figures and a number of celebrities" including Alidoosti have been questioned or arrested "following some baseless comments about the recent events and the publishing of provocative material in support of the street riots". Alidoosti is best known for her role in the Oscar-winning 2016 film "The Salesman". Her most recent social media post was on December 8, the same day Mohsen Shekari, 23, became the first person executed by authorities over the protests. "Your silence means the support of the oppression and the oppressor," read text on an image shared to her Instagram account. "Every international organisation who is watching this bloodshed and not taking action, is a disgrace to humanity," Alidoosti wrote in the caption of her post. The actress has been a prominent presence in Iranian cinema since she was a teenager. Recently, she starred in the film "Leila's Brothers", which screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Iran has been rocked by protests triggered by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, after her arrest for an alleged breach of the country's dress code. (AFP)