Iran sentences film actress to 90 lashes for 2009 film

An Iranian court has reportedly sentenced an Iranian actress to one year in jail and 90 lashes because of her role in a film produced by an Australian-based company. Marzieh Vafamehr received the grievous sentence due to her lead role in "My Tehran for Sale", a movie portraying social alienation, artistic repression and drug use in Iran.

The film tells the story of a young actress whose stage work is banned by authorities. "Vafamehr often appears with a shaved head and no headscarf in the film, which also explores cultural oppression in Iran and taboos such as drug use," the court paper said.www.mannastores.com

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the actress had been arrested in July for the "offence" and was held in detention until 25 July 2011 when she was released on bail.However, she received her sentence over the weekend. The film has also been harshly criticized in conservative circles.

The actress who is wife of film director and screenwriter Nasser Taghvai, had befallen such fate because the movie was believed to be critical of the Islamic republic's hard-line policies. Technically, authorities also accused the film of not having the required permits.

The Fars news agency had previously said the movie was not approved for screening in Iran and was being distributed in the country illegally. Granaz Moussavi, director of the film refuted this, saying that the charges have no grounds. In a statement to the Associated Press, he said: "All the documentation has been provided to the Iranian court to show that permits were in place for the production of the film." Taghvai also said the charge is baseless.Vafamehr's attorney has reportedly appealed the sentence which was handed down on Saturday.

Lashing sentences are still prevalent in Iran. Last year, Peyman Aref, was sentenced to a year in Tehran's notorious Evin prison for spreading propaganda against the regime, and lashed 74 times with a leather whip for ‘insulting' the President. " I didn't scream, because I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of hearing a single cry from me" Mr Aref had said. He however suffers from a heart complaint and fainted halfway through his ordeal.

"My Tehran for sale" was premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in 2009 but is banned in Iran.