Iranian actor Hamed Behdad, pictured with actress Baran Kosari, is one of those subject to a travel ban. Credit: Atta Kenare/AFP
Iranian film stars, sports figures and celebrities have been banned from leaving the country, their bank accounts frozen and their salaries cut, according to leaked documents revealing the depth of the regime's crackdown.
Dozens of prominent Iranians have been fined for supporting women's rights protests since last year, secret documents seen by the Telegraph show, with punitive sanctions including «cutting off their communications.»
To a government list includes sports, stage and screen stars, as well as football coaches, all part of a massive crackdown on all those who support the uprising that began in September.
The documents say the punishments are a reaction to what the regime calls «incitement to new unrest.» The measures it says «at the lowest cost and with the greatest benefit to contain the riots» are designed in accordance with the "principle of enlightenment".
The leaks shed light on the extent of the repression and hint at regime fears of popular protests forcing regime change. The documents also provide an unprecedented insight into the mechanism of repression.
Among them are award-winning men and women from Iran's silver screen elite, such as actor Atila Pesyani, singer and actor Hamid Behdad and actress Elnaz Shakerdust, regulars at the country's prestigious Fajr International Film Festival. Four weeks ago, Behdad wrote: «I'm sure we'll get a taste of freedom this year.» The Summer Olympics and a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics have also been listed, though he remains defiant in avoiding the social ban.
This week, he wrote on Instagram that «food prices and the basic necessities of people's lives are becoming more expensive every day and every week.»
He said: “Sanctions and inflation for the people of poverty, poverty and destitution. For people of gold and power [the rich and powerful], these are all blessings and riches.” In another, he wrote: “The lie of the officials is not a crime?!”
Former footballer of the national team Javad Kazemyan, who played at the 2006 World Cup, was also fined, and the midfielder of FC Persepolis Milad Sarlak received a 20- percentage cut in wages. Everyone is forbidden to leave the country.
The Iranian national team caused controversy during the World Cup in Qatar when they refused to sing the national anthem to protest the brutal crackdown on protesters that killed more than 500 civilians and injured hundreds.
Reza Ramenzapour, head coach of the national chess team, who saw one of its top chess players, Sara Khadem, perform on the world stage without the mandatory hijab and was subsequently forced to emigrate to Spain after an arrest warrant was issued against her, also was condemned. further «restrictions» have been put in place in addition to his frozen bank account, communications blackouts, and a travel ban.
The orders were issued by a committee on «special individuals» that reports to the Homeland Security Council, one of many committees fighting with a massive uprising against the Islamic regime, operating after the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Western-backed Shah.
By cracking down hard on these people, the regime hopes to avoid what it calls «the consolidation and solidarity of one group» that sympathizes with the opposition and forms a strong enough front to topple the dictatorship. The documents say that punishments «should be based on the principle of education» and «be guided by special individuals.»
The memorandum states that the organizations entrusted with the implementation of the sanctions «should act as soon as possible.» … in order to force these individuals to follow the lines of the system so that the results are visible on the ground.”
Compiled by the prosecutor's office of Tehran's public and revolutionary prosecutor Mohammed-Javed Azadi, the list of 139 targets was distributed to the country's top security and intelligence agencies, including the Revolutionary Guards, the Organization for Security and Intelligence, and the Ministry of Intelligence. and Tehran's head of intelligence.
Cultural and sports authorities have also been accused of crackdowns, including the head of Iran's national broadcasting authority and the head of the security center of the Ministry of Sports and Youth. Instructions were given to submit daily summaries to the secretary of the Internal Security Council.
The protests were sparked by the death in the custody of the vice police of 22-year-old Kurdish Mahsa Amini, who was arrested in Tehran for inappropriately wearing her mandatory Islamic headscarf, the hijab, and has since have spread throughout the country.
Mardo Sogom, an Iranian journalist, said that celebrities, artists and intellectuals have a special status in Iran that risks undermining the efforts of censors.
“Artists are seen more as intellectuals, and not just as actors, directors, etc., so their public stance on issues can have a significant impact on society in all generations,” he said.
Sogom added: “These celebrities offer an alternative voice where there is no freedom of political expression or political groups that are allowed to speak. Therefore, the regime seeks to punish them. If they let go, they are afraid that an unstoppable tidal wave will begin.
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