According to stolen documents obtained by the BBC, Iran established a secret committee last year to penalize celebrities who supported the current anti-government protests.
Six days after the unrest started, on September 22, the committee delivered a list of 141 well-known individuals to the economy ministry.
The ministry was instructed to look into the individuals’ tax returns and take unspecified legal action against them.
Top actress Taraneh Alidoosti and football icon Ali Daei were on the list.
They are among the scores of performers, athletes, and social media celebrities who over the past seven months have been subjected to financial penalties, travel restrictions, or jail as a result of supporting the demonstrators’ demands for fundamental liberties.
Following the death in detention of Mahsa Amini on September 16—a young woman who had been arrested by morality police in Tehran for reportedly wearing her hijab “improperly”—demonstrations quickly swept throughout the nation.
Security forces violently crushed the protests, branding them as “riots” staged by foreigners, killing hundreds of people and imprisoning thousands more.