06 October 2019

Sahar Tabar: Iranian Instagram star 'arrested for blasphemy'

An Iranian Instagram star famed for posts which appeared to show she had gone to extreme lengths to look like US actress Angelina Jolie has been arrested, reports say.

Sahar Tabar was arrested for crimes including blasphemy and instigating violence, Tasnim news agency reported.

Tabar made international headlines last year when photos of her went viral.

Though she was rumoured to have had 50 plastic surgeries, most of the pictures in her posts had been heavily edited.

.... Judicial authorities arrested Tabar after members of the public reportedly made complaints about her, Tasnim reported.

She is accused of blasphemy, instigating violence, illegally acquiring property, insulting the country's dress code and encouraging young people to commit corruption.

Her Instagram has since been deleted.

She joins a long list of online Iranian influencers and fashion bloggers who have fallen foul of the law.

The report of her detention has sparked online denunciation of the authorities, with one tweet sarcastically suggesting she should have indulged in less incendiary pursuits, such as embezzlement and murder. [BBC] Read more