Iranian actress sentenced to 90 lashes for illegal film
A year in jail too for Marzieh Vafamehr after she makes a movie
shot and distributed without permission
LAST UPDATED 9:51 AM, OCTOBER 10, 2011
IRANIAN actress Marzieh Vafamehr has been sentenced to a year in jail and 90 lashes for her appearance in My Tehran for Sale, a film about the persecution of artists in the Islamic republic.
Vafamehr was arrested in July following an outcry against the film,
which was funded by Australians and shot on location in Tehran. She was later released on bail.
The movie tells the story of a young actress, also called Marzieh, who is banned from the theatre by the Iranian authorities. When she meets Saman, an Australian-Iranian, at an underground rave, Marzieh decides to escape the country with him.
In a reflection of the reality for Iranian artists, who can only truly
express themselves in secret, My Tehran For Sale was shot without the permission of the authorities.
Reviewing the film for Variety in 2009, Russell Edwards said it
featured "superior" performances and the camerawork was "above average for a clandestine operation". However, he thought the "erratic narrative reflects the drawbacks of filming in such uncertain
circumstances".
It is unclear exactly what crime Vafamehr is being punished for, and whether other cast and crew have been punished, but AFP reports the film is being distributed in Iran illegally. Vafamehr's
sentence was reported at the weekend by Kalameh.com, an opposition website, which said her lawyer was appealing the sentence. 
Filed under: Iran, Marzieh Vafamehr, Marzieh Vafamehr actress, Marzieh Vafamehr whipped, Marzieh Vafamehr sentenced, Iran sharia law
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