Celebrities in Iran are facing punishment for supporting protests following death of Mahsa Amini
Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi’s noir thriller Subtraction will be screened at the prestigious London Film Festival on Saturday.
But on Friday he joined a growing list of Iranian celebrities, including artists, filmmakers and athletes, who have been arrested or banned from traveling for supporting a nationwide insurgency that, despite a bloody crackdown, has shown no sign of abating as it turned its head second month approaches.
“Maybe the authorities thought they could keep a better eye on me by holding me here, maybe to threaten me and silence me?” Haghighi said in a video posted to his Instagram page on Friday . “Well, just the fact that I’m speaking to you right now in this video undermines that plan.”
The protests in Iran, led by women and youth, have quickly become one of the biggest challenges in years in the iron grip of Iran’s spiritual leaders.
The protests began in mid-September after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody for allegedly damaging her clothing sparked outrage. Amini’s death and authorities’ efforts to cover it up quickly became a symbol of decades of political repression, poverty, gender discrimination and state-sponsored violence, among other grievances that fueled unrest for weeks.
Iran’s leadership blamed foreign “instigators” for the protests, leading to internet and communications blackouts and a widespread and violent crackdown that has included raids on schools, live fire to disperse protests, and mass arrests. At least 144 people were killed, including 23 minors, according to Amnesty International.
Despite the crackdown, stunning videos of women defiantly removing their mandatory veils and protesters grappling with security forces have garnered support around the world. Oscar-winning actresses and European politicians have posted videos cutting their hair in solidarity.
Some Iranians and human rights groups have called for a more forceful and coordinated response from Washington, the European Union and the United Nations.
“Without urgent international action, this is just going to continue and get worse,” said Raha Bahreini, an Iran researcher at London-based Amnesty International.
The Biden administration early expressed its support for the protests and condemned Tehran’s violent crackdown.
“Today I met with civil society partners to discuss what more the US can do to support the Iranian people, especially their brave women and girls,” Foreign Minister Antony Blinken tweeted on Friday, along with a photo of the meeting.
Iranian actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi, who attended the meeting, also met with Vice President Harris on Friday. The two discussed ways to bolster U.S. support, “including by facilitating Internet access for Iranians and by holding Iranian officials accountable for their brutality and abuses,” according to a statement from the meeting.
But for those speaking out in Iran, even Iranians with international influence, the risks continue to mount.
Haghighi said authorities prevented him from boarding his plane on Friday and confiscated his passport.
They gave him no explanation for “this absolutely rude behavior,” he said in his video statement.
Haghighi said his ban came after he posted on Instagram “in which I criticized Iran’s mandatory hijab laws and the crackdown on the youth who are protesting against it and so many other instances of injustice in their lives.”
Prominent Iranian actor Hamid Farrokhnezhad said on October 9 in an Instagram story that he had been interrogated for hours and banned from traveling.
“I was summoned twice, interrogated for ten hours and banned from leaving the country to prove I was wrong when I said that not even a peaceful protest is possible in this country,” Farrokhnezhad said, Radio Farda reported .
Other celebrities have faced work bans and harassment upon returning to the country.
Singer Homayoun Shajarian and his wife, actress Sahar Dolatshahi, had their passports confiscated after they returned from a concert in Australia, the ILNA news agency reported on October 9.
Iranian soccer legend Ali Daei said authorities also confiscated his passport upon arrival at Tehran Airport. The former head coach of the Iran national soccer team and star player of the German Bundesliga soccer team has posted on social media in support of the protests.
“Our former player Ali Daei is no longer allowed to leave the country because he campaigned for women’s rights,” German soccer club Hertha Berlin tweeted on October 9. “Solidarity with all Herthaners and women in Iran who are so brave fighting for their rights.”
Daei said on October 10 that his passport had been returned. At the airport, he said, he received a receipt “to go to the prosecutor and revolutionary prosecutor in the capital to pursue the case,” AFP reported.
Dubai-based Ali Karimi, believed to be one of Iran’s greatest soccer players and an early supporter of the protests, was charged in absentia on Oct. 4 with “inciting riots,” Mehr news agency reported.
Some Iranian artists have gained international fame as a result of state efforts to silence them. In late September, authorities arrested Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour after he shared a tribute to the protests on his Instagram page. The song, a compilation of tweets about why Iranians were protesters, quickly went viral as the uprising’s soundtrack. Hajipour was released on bail in early October.
Despite decades of state censorship, Iran has a booming art scene. Artists and other celebrities have long been common targets during times of civil unrest.
In July, authorities arrested two award-winning filmmakers, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad, for taking part in demonstrations against the collapse of a luxury ten-storey commercial building. Dozens were killed as reports surfaced that the community was involved in the building and approved a shabby blueprint.
When internationally renowned filmmaker Jafar Panahi went to the prosecutor’s office to inquire about the detention of his colleagues, the authorities also arrested him.
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