Iranian authorities arrest Oscar-winning actress

CAIRO — Iranian authorities have arrested one of the country’s most famous actresses for spreading lies about the nationwide protests rocking the country, state media said on Saturday.

The IRNA report says Taraneh Alidoosti, star of Oscar-winning film ‘The Salesman’, was detained a week after posting a message on Instagram expressing solidarity with the first man recently executed for crimes committed during the nationwide protests.

According to the report published on the state media’s official Telegram channel, Alidoosti was arrested because she did not provide “any document consistent with her claims”.

“His name was Mohsen Shekari,” she said in her post. “Every international organization that watches this bloodbath and does not act is a disgrace to humanity.”

Shekari was executed on December 9 after being accused by an Iranian court of blocking a street in Tehran and attacking a member of the country’s security forces with a machete.

Iran has been rocked by protests since the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by morality police. The protests have since turned into one of the most serious challenges to the Iranian theocracy established by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Hengameh Ghaziani and Katayoun Riahi, two other famous actresses in Iran, were arrested by authorities for expressing solidarity with protesters on social media. Both were released.

At least 495 people have been killed in the protests amid a harsh security crackdown, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the protests since they began. More than 18,200 people have been arrested by the authorities.