(Los Angeles) Nearly 500 movie celebrities and workers, including actresses Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard and directors Ken Loach and Pedro Almodovar, are calling in an open letter on Wednesday for the immediate release of Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, arrested for supporting the protest in Iran.
Emma Thompson, Golshifteh Farahani, Kristen Stewart, Jeremy Irons and Mark Ruffalo among others judge that the timing of his arrest, shortly before Christmas, was deliberate “to ensure that his international colleagues are distracted”.
“But we are not distracted. We are outraged,” they say in the letter.
Taraneh was arrested for Instagram condemning the execution of Mohsen Shekari, the first protester sentenced to death since nationwide protests began following the brutal police killing of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini in September “, they add.
“Like all citizens of Iran, she has the right to freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention. We stand in solidarity and demand his immediate release,” they said.
Taraneh Alidoosti is the most famous personality arrested in connection with the protest movement agitating Iran for three months.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights told AFP that it was “deeply concerned” by this arrest.
Taraneh Alidoosti, 38, is known overseas for starring in award-winning films by director Asghar Farhadi, including The customerOscar for best foreign language film in 2017. She also starred in Saeed Roustayi’s film Leila and her brotherspresented this year at the Cannes Film Festival.