25 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Iranian authorities reportedly formed a secret committee in 2022 to punish famous people who supported the protests that broke out in September after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian-Kurdish woman detained in the capital, Tehran, for allegedly wearing the wrong clothing. the veil.
Leaked documents obtained by Britain’s BBC television network include a letter dated September 22, less than a week after the start of the protests, that the committee sent to the Finance Ministry with the names of 141 celebrities to investigate their statements of taxes and take unspecified measures against them.
The list included the names of the soccer player Ali Daei, the actress Tarané Alidusti, and the film directors Asghar Farhadi, Pegá Ahangarani, Maniyé Hekmay, Barzu Anjomand and Shahin Samadpur, who positioned themselves in favor of the mobilizations and who are part of the dozens of artists and athletes who have been subjected to economic sanctions, travel bans and even arrests in recent months.
The decisions included in the letter would have been adopted by the ‘Special Force on Celebrities’, headed by the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Mohamad Mehdi Esmaili, the target of sanctions by the European Union (EU) for alleged violations of Human Rights. Humans.
The British chain has detailed that it obtained the documents through an intelligence source in the Middle East and has stressed that they detail coordinated actions by the Iranian authorities to try to prevent famous people from contradicting the official version of events.
Despite the fact that the letter does not include details about the restrictions imposed on these people, one of those affected has detailed that “the Instagram ‘influencers’ received threats from the authorities that if they continued to support the protests they would have to pay taxes on all income earned from its activities, which could be a significant figure”. In addition, two other people have confirmed that their bank accounts were blocked.
On the other hand, a second document dated September 26, 2022 states that the ‘Special Force on Celebrities’ would have been renamed the ‘Celebrities Committee’ and made permanent, with responsibilities divided between the ministries of Culture and Intelligence for “artists , singers and media personalities” and Sports and Intelligence for athletes.
This document states that any decision “must be adopted in a way that minimizes costs and maximizes benefits when it comes to controlling the riots and supporting the principles of the regime”, while a third letter, dated November 1, addresses how to deal with the case of the footballers of the Iranian team facing the World Cup in Qatar.
Sources quoted by the US television channel indicated in November that the Government of Iran would have threatened relatives of the players of the soccer team participating in the Qatar World Cup with imprisonment and torture if the soccer players “do not behave well”. after the controversy when he refused to sing the anthem in the opening match against England.
The Iranian authorities have exempted the security forces from any blame for Amini’s death, although they have acknowledged certain excesses during the repression of the protests, which have resulted in nearly 500 deaths, according to balances provided by various non-governmental organizations. .
