JAKARTA - Iranian authorities have detained a prominent chef and well-known Instagram influencer, for his videos promoting Persian cuisine, in its crackdown on nationwide protests, human rights groups and their supporters said Thursday.
Navab Ebrahimi was arrested in Tehran on Wednesday and taken to the Evin City jail, the Human Rights Activists News Agency said.
No reason was given for the arrest of Ebrahimi, who has about 2.7 million followers on Instagram, where he posted a well-produced video showing how to prepare the classic Persian dish.
But social media users said the chef's arrest coincided with him posting a video of making Persian cutlets on the day Iranian authorities commemorated the third anniversary of the US assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Qassem Soleimani.
Some Iranians who oppose the regime have made a habit of posting images of chopped meat on the anniversary of General Soleimani's death, referring to the manner in which he was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq.
"Chef and influencer Navab Ebrahimi has been arrested in Tehran. Social media users are speculating his arrest has something to do with his Instagram stories," about the cutlet, said the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, reported The National News on January 6.
Nik Yousefi, an Iranian filmmaker and photographer who was arrested in October as part of the crackdown and later released, also wrote on Twitter that Ebrahimi had been arrested and his cafe in Tehran, Noj, closed.
As Iranian authorities held a memorial service on Wednesday to mourn Soleimani's death, opponents shared images of people burning his image on banners.
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According to the United Nations, Iran has arrested at least 14.000 people in a wave of protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, an Iranian Kurdish woman who had been arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women in custody on September 16.
It is known that a number of prominent journalists, filmmakers, lawyers, and activists have been arrested. Several have been released on bail, including actress Taraneh Alidoosti, but others remain in prison.
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