Jailed Iranian Actress Alidoosti Released On Bail

The Iranian authorities released prominent actress Taraneh Alidoosti on bail nearly three weeks after she was incarcerated for expressing support for the nationwide protest movement.

Alidoosti’s mother posted a picture of the 38-year-old actress outside Tehran’s Evin prison on January 4, along with a message calling for the release of those thrown behind bars since the ongoing wave of protests kicked off in mid-September.

Footage posted on social media show Iranian activists and cinema workers greeting Alidoosti, who was not wearing the mandatory hijab, outside the prison. 

🎞️ Taraneh Alidoosti, star of the Oscar-winning film "The Salesman”, was released on bail after spending almost three weeks behind bars for supporting the anti-government protest movement.

#truth #IranRevoIution #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/vCWkkFUuRv

— IranWire (@IranWireEnglish) January 4, 2023

Alidoosti was arrested on December 17 for "publishing false and distorted content and inciting chaos,” according to local media, sparking widespread condemnation.  

Her arrest came after she posted on November 10 a picture of herself on Instagram without a headscarf and holding a Kurdish-language slogan of the protest movement reading “Jin. Jiyan. Azadi.” (Woman. Life. Freedom.)

The actress, best known for her role in the Oscar-winning 2016 film The Salesman, had previously shared social media posts that were critical of the Islamic Republic.

The women-led protest movement that has rocked Iran for more than three months was triggered by the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Tehran’s morality police. She had been arrested for an alleged breach of the country’s strict dress code.

The demonstrations rapidly escalated into calls for an end to more than 40 years of clerical rule.

The security forces responded to the demonstrations with brutal force, killing more than 500 people and detaining over 18,000, human rights activists say.

A growing number of Iranian celebrities have voiced support for the protesters and criticized the authorities’ brutal clampdown on dissent. Some of these celebrities have been thrown behind bars, with Islamic Republic officials accusing them of "fanning the flames of the riots."