Rasoulf: Intensification of Restrictions on Taraneh Alidoosti is a Sign of Government's Helplessness Against Women

Mohammad Rasoulf, a well-known Iranian director, announced severe restrictions imposed on Taraneh Alidoosti, a prominent television and cinema actress and a critic of the Islamic Republic, through an Instagram post. In this post published on Friday, January 8, he described Alidoosti as 'an inspiration for millions of Iranians' in the realm of 'civil resistance against tyranny,' stating that the security and judicial institutions of the Islamic Republic have imposed the most severe restrictions possible on her. Rasoulf pointed out that Alidoosti's 'national ID code' has been blocked, stating that 'she cannot even travel within Iran with her daughter.' He considered these actions a sign of 'the Islamic government's helplessness in the face of Iranian women.' Taraneh Alidoosti, a critical actress, openly supported the protesters during the widespread protests of 2022 and removed her mandatory hijab. She was arrested on December 26 of that year and was temporarily released on bail of one billion tomans after three weeks. Following the support of several cultural figures for the 2022 protests, some of them were summoned, arrested, and tried. Notable actresses including Panahteh Bahram, Baran Kowsari, Vishka Asayesh, and others removed their hijabs in protest against the killing of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police and in support of the widespread protests. Documents previously provided to VOA by the hacker group 'Justice Ali' indicate that the Islamic Republic's intelligence agencies, in collaboration with several ministries and state media, have been managing 'specific figures' for years and have fabricated cases against some cultural and sports personalities. According to these documents, a committee titled 'Specific Figures' was formed in the Ministry of Interior's Security Council on October 4, 2022, just ten days after the protests began, based on 'reports from security and intelligence agencies.' However, according to other documents held by VOA, a committee called 'Management of Figures' existed in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in 2018 and 2019, which was connected to intelligence agencies, the Supreme National Security Council, and several ministries and state media. Previous reports from VOA emphasized that 'a number of specific sports, artistic, and cinematic figures' have taken a stance on the nationwide protests and supported them, which 'has led to increased mobilization among protesters' and 'instead of reducing tensions in society, has created more unrest.'