Iranian star actor Abolfazl Pourarab has appeared on a live TV program where he called on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to grant an amnesty to those who have been arrested and prosecuted in connection with the ongoing nationwide wave of protests.
"I am asking the leader of the revolution to grant amnesty to these people. Forgive them and establish a national reconciliation," Pourarab said on state TV channel Five as the presenter tried to interrupt him.
Previously, the actor had not expressed any thought publicly regarding the protest movement.
The country has been swept by protests since the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by the morality police. The protests have since morphed into one of the most serious challenges to the theocracy installed by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Security forces have violently cracked down on the demonstrations, killing at least 469 people, including 63 children, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group.
At least 18,000 others have been detained. Dozens have been handed capital punishment or are facing charges that carry a death sentence. Iran carried out the first two executions earlier this month, triggering international condemnation.
A growing number of Iranian celebrities have voiced support for the protests, with Islamic Republic officials accusing them of "fanning the flames of the riots." Some of them have been thrown behind bars, including well-known actors.
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