Nearly 500 film personalities 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 revolted,” they say in the letter.
“Taraneh was arrested for condemning on Instagram 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.
AFP
