Famous Iranian actor slams government, says “we are captives”January 13, 2020 - 18:42 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A popular Iranian female actor has criticiզed the government in a post on Instagram, telling her almost 6 million followers that “we are not citizens” but “captives”. Taraneh Alidoosti – who has appeared in the Oscar-nominated film “The Salesman” – made her comments on Sunday, as Iranians hit the streets in a series of anti-regime protests. “I fought this dream for a long time and didn’t want to accept it. We are not citizens. We never were. We are captives,” she wrote, according to The Guardian. Alidoositi said she has replaced her profile picture with the color black in mourning for demonstrators shot dead by security forces last November. The color had nothing to do with official “mourning” following the assassination on 3 January of Iran’s top general Qassem Suleimani by a US drone, she added. The actor’s intervention comes amid reports that Iranian authorities have fired live ammunition to disperse protesters in Tehran, wounding several people. The protests broke out after the government admitted on Friday its military had accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing 176 people. Alidoosti has previously spoken out against Donald Trump’s decision to impose visa bans on Iranians. In 2017 she boycotted the Oscar awards ceremony after The Salesman in which she starred was nominated in the best foreign language film category. The blanket ban was racist, she said. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. |