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On the 17th (local time), Iranian authorities arrested Iran's famous actress Taraneh Alidoosti. Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti (38), who has been at the forefront of criticizing the government in support of the 'hijab protests,' has finally been arrested by authorities.

The news of Alidoosti's arrest was first revealed through the social media of film director Samia Mirshamsi, who is close to her. Later, on the 17th (local time), Iran's state-run IRNA news agency and the judiciary-affiliated Mizan news agency also reported her arrest, stating that the case is under investigation.

IRNA reported that Alidoosti was arrested on the same day on charges of posting false and distorted information supporting anti-government movements and inciting social unrest and riots. Mirshamsi said, "Authorities searched Alidoosti's home, and currently, her whereabouts are unknown."

With over 8 million Instagram followers, Alidoosti has publicly expressed support multiple times for the 'hijab protests' triggered by the suspicious death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini last September. On the 9th of last month, she posted a photo on Instagram showing herself without a hijab and with her long hair exposed.

In the photo, she is holding a paper with the phrase "Women, Life, Freedom" written in Kurdish, a minority language. The photo received over one million likes. Earlier, on the 4th of last month, she posted, "I inherited this courage from the women of my land who have lived day by day with resistance and equality, dreaming of freedom," adding, "No matter what happens, I will stay in Iran."

Her last Instagram post was about a young man who was executed after participating in anti-government protests. In this post, Alidoosti wrote, "His name was Mohsen Shekari. All international organizations that watch this brutal execution and do not respond are a disgrace to humanity."

Shekari, 23, was executed after being charged with blocking the streets of Tehran on the 8th and injuring a member of the Iranian security forces. Alidoosti continued, "Your silence is support for oppression and dictatorship," strongly urging people to join the protests. Currently, Alidoosti's Instagram account has been shut down.

Starting her acting career in her late teens, she gained recognition by winning the Best Actress award at Iran's international Fajr Film Festival in 2002. She played the lead role in Asghar Farhadi's "The Salesman," which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2017, and recently appeared in Said Roustayi's "Leila's Brothers," which received acclaim at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Fluent in German and English, Alidoosti also translated books by Nobel Literature Prize winner Alice Munro and renowned American author Nicole Krauss from English into Persian in 2013. Her father, Hamid Alidoosti, was a player for the Iranian national football team and is known as the first Iranian to play for a foreign team.

Alidoosti has long actively resisted the Iranian government, which enforces strict Islamic law. At a press conference celebrating her Cannes Film Festival award in 2016, it was revealed that she has a tattoo of a fist symbolizing feminism on the inside of her elbow, acknowledging her feminist stance. She also strongly criticized the government during the large-scale protests in 2019 triggered by fuel price hikes, stating that "Iranians are no different from prisoners, not citizens."