Lawyer of Hanieh Tosoli: My Client Faces 'Prevention from Acting'

The lawyer of Hanieh Tosoli, a prominent theater and cinema actress and supporter of the nationwide protests of 2022, announced that her client is facing 'prevention from acting' without having any 'prohibition order' against her. Maryam Kian-Arthi, a lawyer, stated on Sunday, October 1, on the social media platform X that despite the fact that her client Hanieh Tosoli 'does not have a work prohibition order, while denying the published news about her presence' in cinematic projects, this actress 'is still facing prevention from acting.' Hanieh Tosoli is one of the actresses who, following her support for the nationwide protests in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini in custody of the morality police in September 2022, has faced legal actions and punishments from the judiciary of the Islamic Republic, including imprisonment and fines. In September 2023, coinciding with increased pressures on protesters in Iran and the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, Hanieh Tosoli's sister announced on her Instagram page that she had been arrested and that Islamic Republic intelligence agents had taken her from her home to an unknown location. Mahnaz Afshar, a colleague of Ms. Tosoli, reacted to this arrest by stating that 'Hanieh said she no longer felt like working on any project, even those that had completed the first part with her and wanted to continue; she had withdrawn, saying that after Mahsa Amini, she could no longer work.' According to the verdict of Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, Hanieh Tosoli was sentenced to six months of imprisonment and a fine of 15 million tomans for publishing what was described as 'false information with the intent to disturb public opinion,' but 'the execution of the sentence has been suspended for three years.' Furthermore, pressure on civil activists and families seeking justice continues in the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, with intelligence and judicial forces of the Islamic Republic arresting several activists and issuing judicial sentences against them.