Taraneh Alidoosti, the Iranian actress and star of Asghar Faradi‘s Oscar-winning The Salesman has been released from prison after posting bail. Alidoosti’s mother, Nadereh Hakim Elahi, posted images of her daughter outside Tehran’s Evin Prison shortly after her release.
Alidoosti was detained Dec. 17 after she posted her support of nationwide anti-government protests. Several major film festivals and film industry organizations — including the Screen Actors Guild, the European Film Academy, and the Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam and Tribeca film festivals — condemned her arrest.
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Hundreds of artists worldwide, including such Hollywood A-listers as Mark Ruffalo, Penélope Cruz, Jason Momoa, Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, signed a petition protesting calling for her release.
Iranian authorities have not said if they are dropping the charges against Alidoosti or if they will continue to pursue their case against her.
The Iranian government has been sharply criticized for its brutal crackdown on protestors and those who support them, a crackdown that has included the public execution of some charged with alleged crimes related to the demonstrations.
Iran has been rocked by protests since the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by the morality police, a unit of Iran’s police force. Many consider the protests one of the most serious challenges to Iran’s theocratic rule since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
Alidoosti had previously criticized the Iranian government and its police force before this year’s protests. In June 2020, she was given a suspended five-month prison sentence after she criticized the police on Twitter in 2018 for assaulting a woman who had removed her headscarf.
One of Iran’s best-known film and TV actresses, Alidoosti has appeared in such films as The Beautiful City and About Elly.
