Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal join the chorus of calls for the release of Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti

Robert Niro and Tribeca Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal joined the chorus of calls for the release of Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti from prison, along with “other members of the Iranian arts and entertainment community who are risking their lives has to speak, the government speaks. .”

Two-time Oscar winner De Niro is the most prominent person to publicly chastise the Iranian regime for its behavior since Alidoosti’s arrest, joining Asghar Farhadi, SAG-AFTRA and several European film institutes and festivals.

Alidoosti, one of the country’s most prominent actresses and star of the Cannes competition title Leila’s brothers, was arrested and jailed six days ago after expressing solidarity with anti-government protesters on Instagram, where she posed without a headscarf. She condemned those who did not speak out about the execution of protester Mohsen Shekari.

In a Tribeca statement signed by De Niro and Rosenthal last hour, the couple called for their immediate release from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.

“We are deeply concerned for Taraneh’s safety and join film festivals, filmmakers and artists around the world in calling for her release,” she added. “Tribeca commends Taraneh, a women’s rights activist, for her unfathomable bravery in speaking out defiantly against the Iranian government without wearing a head covering. We also declare: ‘Woman, life, freedom!'”

Tribeca, which is 70% women, expressed support for “other members of Iran’s arts and entertainment scene who have risked their lives to speak out against the government,” including Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al Ahmad.

Alidoosti’s detention comes amid a widening crackdown in Iran sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for not wearing a headscarf in public.