Iranian Instagram star Sahar Tabar, who was jailed last year, is currently on a ventilator after contracting the coronavirus in custody. According to a human rights organization in Iran, they had asked for her to be released amid the COVID-19 outbreak in the country but a judge refused to grant bail.
The U.S.-based Center for Human Rights in Iran stated that they find it unacceptable that the woman has now caught the coronavirus in these circumstances while the detention order has been extended during all this time in jail.
Fatemeh Khishvand, the Instagram celebrity's real name, is known for her transformation into a "zombie Angelina Jolie." The 22-year-old was arrested in October 2019 amid a nationwide crackdown on Instagram celebrities. She faces numerous charges including blasphemy, inciting violence and encouraging the corruption of young people for expressing herself on her Instagram account. Instagram is the only social media app available in Iran because Twitter and Facebook are banned.
Zombie Angelina Jolie
Khishvand became famous in 2017 after she claimed that she had 50 surgeries to look like her favorite Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie. She then started posting selfies showing her inflated lips, hollow cheeks, and cartoonish upturned nose. The shocking look was created with the help of digital editing and makeup. In 2019, she shared pictures with her thousands of followers showing what she actually looks like.
The Instagram star's human rights lawyer, Payam Derafshan, said that they find it unacceptable that the woman now caught the coronavirus in these circumstances while her detention order has been extended during all this time in jail. Judge Mohammad Moghiseh declined to release her on bail repeatedly, even as the coronavirus has rapidly spread in the country. According to the human rights lawyer, the judge is nowhere to be found.
The jail officials in Tehran denied that the Khishvand had caught the coronavirus, but the lawyer does not believe them. Derafshan told CHRI that it has become a habit for the authorities to deny everything and that the prison director should acknowledge the infection and admit that the Instagram star has been hospitalized.
The lawyer has called on authorities to release Khishvand and other inmates who are detained on non-violent charges amid the coronavirus outbreak. There have been more than 77,000 reported cases of the virus in Iran with more than 5,000 deaths.
Cases against Sahar Tabar
The Iranian Instagram star Sahar Tabar is facing trial and can be sentenced for up to 2 years in jail after she was accused of obtaining money through illegitimate means. According to an Iranian cybersecurity expert, the Instagram star also published inappropriate and vulgar photos.
According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, Tabar was also accused of blasphemy, inciting violence, an offense against the hijab and corrupting the youth. Before her arrest, Tabar had a following of 26,800 on her Instagram page. Her page was immediately deleted after her arrest, but some fan pages were able to preserve photos and videos of her.
Also known as the Iranian Corpse Bride, the Instagram star stated that she wanted to become famous since she was young, she either wanted to be an actress or a performer. There is still no news about her release and the human rights lawyer is still working on getting her out of the detention center.
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