Actress faces lashing for film critical of Iran

The Australian producers of a film critical of Iran said they are appalled at reports that an Iranian actress has been sentenced to a year in jail and 90 lashes for appearing in the movie.

The Australian producers of a film critical of Iran said Tuesday they are appalled at reports that an Iranian actress has been sentenced to a year in jail and 90 lashes for appearing in the movie.

Reports of the sentence against Marzieh Vafamehr appeared on Kalameh.com,an Iranian opposition website,on Monday,though no statement from the government was issued. The website said Vafamehr was arrested in July and that her attorney has appealed the sentence. My Tehran for Sale was shot in the Iranian capital and is critical of the countrys hard-line policies.

The film was produced by Australia-based Cyan Films and directed by Iranian-Australian Granaz Moussavi. It premiered at Adelaide Film Festival in 2009,but is banned in Iran.

Producers Julie Ryan and Kate Croser said they were deeply shocked and appalled by reports of Vafamehrs sentence. Ryan and Croser said they didnt know the specifics of the charges but that they believe the accusations relate to scenes in which she appears without a hijab headscarf. The producers said Marziehs sentence appears to be unprecedented,and that actresses have appeared without a hijab in several other Iranian films.