We think of actors and actresses as “the beautiful people”, the entertainers, the celebrities. They get drunk, get divorced, get married (over and over), go into rehab, get arrested for taking drugs, etc.  In short, they entertain us both on-screen and off.  This is the role they play in society. We don’t usually think of them as risking jail or physical punishment, perhaps even death, for pursuing their chosen career.

And yet that is what Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr is facing after acting in a film banned by the Iranian government, a film, strangely enough, about an Iranian actress who is jailed and beaten for acting immodestly. It seems unlikely that Ms Vafamehr was unaware of the possible risks of acting in this film. This is one courageous woman.

Writer, artist, journalist Jon Rappoport posted recently about an Iranian actress who has been found guilty of appearing in a banned film and sentenced to 1 year of jail and 90 lashes.  ““There is an appeal which could be lengthy and the family may still believe that public comment will be unhelpful because they are going through all the official channels,” Kate Croser, the Australian co-producer of the film, told Belle News.”

Rappoport asks will anyone amongst the acting profession speak out about this? He doesn’t feel deafened by everyone shouting out at once.

I’m interested to see how many American actors speak up on her behalf. I’m interested to see whether this will inspire the sudden organizing of famous actors, who make a cause out of her sentence, who use their clout to book themselves on TV talk shows, turn the screws on the government of Iran, and demand Marzieh’s release and the recanting of her conviction and sentencing.

…

Well, in case you’re vaguely interested, here is my opinion, in terms of priorities. The fate of Marzieh Vafamehr is more important than the iPod, iPhone, iPad, or Pixar.

via An Actress Goes to Prison | Jon Rappoport’s blog

Vafamehr was arrested for appearing in the short-film, and this weekend an Iranian court sentenced her to one year in prison and 90 lashes, according to The Associated Press.

Ironically, “My Tehran for Sale” is about an Iranian actress who is jailed and beaten for acting immodestly. The movie was shot in Tehran, and leaked copies of “My Tehran for Sale” have been passed around the country in defiance of the ban.

Iran is the same country where a Christian pastor named Youcef Nadarkhani was allegedly sentenced to death for the crime of abandoning Islam. The Iranian government now says that Nadarkhani is “a convicted rapist and extortionist,” but court documents indicate that the death sentence came after the pastor refused to convert to Islam.

via Iranian Actress Marzieh Vafamehr to be Lashed 90 Times, Jailed for One Year – International Business Times.

Once you have converted to Islam you may not de-convert. The penalty for dropping out is death, according to Sharia law. Doesn’t matter, apparently, if you were “born into the religion” as a child, baptised by your parents but without your consent.

Tags: Iran, Jon Rappoport