TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iranian authorities prevented a well-known movie actress and a film maker from traveling to the United States because of their activities after a disputed election in June, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Sarmayeh daily appeared to refer to involvement in huge opposition protests that erupted after the June 12 presidential poll, which defeated candidates say was rigged to secure the re-election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
It said actress Fatemeh Motamed-Aria and documentary movie producer Mojtaba Mirtahmaseb were stopped at Tehran’s airport on Thursday as they prepared to depart for a work-related visit to Los Angeles.
Eight other people in the group were allowed to leave for a week-long conference on Iranian cinema, Sarmayeh said.
“These two were stopped from leaving because of their activities in post-election events,” the newspaper said, without giving a source.It quoted Mirtahmaseb as saying: “After completing the last stages of our passport inspection, airport agents showed a court order to me and Mrs Motamed-Aria and said that neither of us can leave Iran.” He added that no reason was given.
There was no immediate comment from the authorities.
