Iranian Actress Who Supported Protests Handed Suspended Prison Sentence

An Iranian court has sentenced Hanieh Tavassoli, a renowned film actress, to six months in prison for voicing support for nationwide protests last year, her lawyer says. 

In a statement on social media on November 19, lawyer Maryam Kian Ersi said the sentence would be suspended for a period of three years. 

Tavassoli, 44, was arrested at her home in mid-September this year and released on bail the following day, after speaking out against the government's crackdown on dissent and expressing solidarity with victims of human rights abuses.

She was charged with "publishing content contrary to reality with the intention of disturbing the public mind."

In a recent Instagram post, Tavassoli shared pictures of summonses she had received from the authorities. 

One of them related to social media posts in which she expressed sympathy for the family of Armita Geravand, a 16-year-old girl who was assaulted at a Tehran metro station on October 1 for not wearing a headscarf. Armita died after being in a coma for 28 days.