Two prominent actresses arrested in Iran for not wearing hijabs as protests continue to escalate over the country’s top leaders’ increasing crackdown on civil liberties.
Darya Korda, the wife of ‘Harry Potter’ star Daniel Radcliffe, and actress Sohrab Sepehri were both charged under Iran’s stringent dress code and fined this week after they refused to wear the full-body Islamic veil, despite being ordered by Iranian authorities to wear it.
The news comes after two British film stars, who were arrested in Iran, have been allowed to leave the country after posting online a letter detailing their concerns about freedom of expression and fundamental rights as the protests escalated over the country’s political crisis.
Both actresses have since been sentenced to one day jail for not wearing the full-body Islamic headscarf, and one of them, Korda, is now facing a fine of up to 150,000 dirhams.
Korda’s actions are now drawing accusations of hypocrisy from a growing number of human rights campaigners, who point out that the Iranian authorities are often accused of being the most oppressive government in the world, and that it is hypocritical for her to criticize the country’s rule if she has chosen to participate in protests.
“I don’t think that freedom of expression would be possible in Iran if all the actors and actresses remained there,” Sohrab Sepehri, the actor who starred in ‘Harry Potter’s’ adaptation, told The Guardian. “I think it’s a contradiction. Freedom of speech is something that I think I would’ve had difficulty with in Iran, but I have chosen to participate in it because I think it’s the best way for me to express my anger.”
Iran’s recent crackdown has continued into next week with the arrest of two more Iranian nationals for posting critical comments
