Taraneh Alidoosti, a prominent Iranian actress, was arrested by the local authorities on Saturday after she posted messages on social media expressing solidarity with anti-government protests that have rocked Iran for nearly three months.

Alidoosti, 38, was arrested in connection with what state news media described as “unsubstantiated comments about recent events” and “the publication of provocative material”. It is one of the highest-profile detentions the Iranian authorities have made in their effort to crack down on a women-led uprising that started in September.

The protests were set off by the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, while in the custody of the morality police on allegations that she had violated mandatory hijab rules.

In recent weeks, Alidoosti, whose credits include the Academy Award winner The Salesman, drew attention after posting a photo of herself without a hijab while holding a sign signalling her support for protesters who have been calling for an end to authoritarian clerical rule in Iran.

This month, after the Iranian government announced that it had hanged Mohsen Shekari, a 23-year-old prisoner who had been arrested in the protests that have engulfed the country, Alidoosti urged people to speak out. “Your silence means supporting oppression and oppressors,” she wrote.

As of Sunday, Alidoosti’s Instagram account appeared to have been removed from the platform, and her Twitter account appeared to be suspended. In a brief Telegram post announcing Alidoosti’s arrest, the state news agency, the Islamic Republic News Agency, said she “did not provide documentation” for some of what it described as her “claims”. She had been arrested “by order of the judicial authority”, according to the Telegram post.

(New York Times News Service)