Iran Protests: Secret Committee Punished Celebrities Over Dissent
According to stolen documents obtained by the BBC, Iran established a secret committee last year to penalize celebrities who supported the current anti-government protests.
Six days after the unrest started, on September 22, the committee delivered a list of 141 well-known individuals to the economy ministry.
The ministry was instructed to look into the individuals’ tax returns and take unspecified legal action against them.
Top actress Taraneh Alidoosti and football icon Ali Daei were on the list.
They are among the scores of performers, athletes, and social media celebrities who over the past seven months have been subjected to financial penalties, travel restrictions, or jail as a result of supporting the demonstrators’ demands for fundamental liberties.
Following the death in detention of Mahsa Amini on September 16—a young woman who had been arrested by morality police in Tehran for reportedly wearing her hijab “improperly”—demonstrations quickly swept throughout the nation.
Security forces violently crushed the protests, branding them as “riots” staged by foreigners, killing hundreds of people and imprisoning thousands more.
Through a Middle Eastern intelligence source, BBC Persian was able to get three documents that show how the government took prompt and coordinated steps to try to discourage celebrities from going against the grain.
The letter, dated September 22, reveals decisions made by a so-called “Celebrity Task Force” and names Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, as its chairman. Esmaili has received sanctions from the European Union for alleged significant human rights breaches.
According to the report, the economy ministry has been ordered to review the tax returns of 141 well-known individuals who the committee believes played a significant part in igniting the disturbance and to put in place “anticipated restrictions in accordance with the law”.
Filmmakers Asghar Farhadi, Pegah Ahangarani, Manijeh Hekmat, and Taraneh Alidoosti were among the famous people on the list in addition to Ali Daei and Taraneh Alidoosti, who was detained on December 17 after denouncing the execution of a protester and released on bail two weeks later.
