Iranian Model Appears at Film Festival Wearing Noose... "Stop Executions"

Iran Executes 582 People Last Year
Public Executions of Anti-Government Protesters Also Conducted

An Iranian-born model attracted attention by appearing at the 76th Cannes International Film Festival in France wearing an outfit reminiscent of a noose used for hanging.

According to US Fox News, CNN, and other broadcasts, Iranian-American Mahla Jahedi (33) appeared at the Cannes Film Festival venue on the 26th (local time) wearing a dress with a neckline shaped like a noose. The dress bore the phrase "STOP EXECUTION."

Jahedi also posted a short 30-second video on her Instagram account, dedicating it "to the people of Iran." The song used in the video is known as a representative anthem of the Iranian anti-government protests.

Jahedi's outfit caused a significant stir on social media. Some netizens expressed support, saying, "We support Jahedi's courageous act," and "Iran must stop persecuting its own citizens."

On the other hand, there were critical opinions such as, "Isn't this just an attempt to attract attention with a flashy outfit?" and "It doesn't seem right to turn a film festival into a political arena."

On the 26th (local time), Iranian model Mahla Javaheri attended the 76th Cannes Film Festival wearing a dress reminiscent of a hanging noose.
[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Amid growing controversy, Jahedi explained her outfit by saying, "I wore it to draw attention to the unjust executions that Iranian people are experiencing," adding, "Political statements are prohibited at the film festival, so I could not show the back of the dress, but the meaning of the noose was well conveyed."

Meanwhile, Iran is one of the countries with the highest number of executions by hanging worldwide. According to the United Nations (UN), 582 executions were carried out last year alone, far exceeding the 2021 figure of 333.

While executions are carried out for crimes such as drug offenses and sexual assault, it is also reported that a significant number of anti-government protesters have been executed by hanging.

Currently, Iran is witnessing the so-called "hijab protests," sparked after a woman in her 20s was taken by the morality police and died under suspicious circumstances for not properly wearing a hijab on September last year. Some protest participants are being publicly executed.

At the end of last year, a video circulated on social media showing Majid Reza Rahnavard, a protester in his 20s from the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, being executed by hanging.