Iran arrested an Instagram celebrity, known for altering her appearance, on charges of blasphemy, provoking violence, earning through inappropriate means and encouraging youth toward corruption, AFP reported, citing Iranian news agency Tasnim, on Monday.
The social media celebrity, known as Sahar Tabar, was detained on Tehran’s guidance court’s order. The court handles cases involving cultural crimes, social and moral corruption.
Tabar rose to prominence last year after she posted images of her face altered through cosmetic surgery to look like American actor Angelina Jolie. The 22-year-old’s posts showed pictures of her sunken cheeks and plumped up lips with a crooked nose.
The Instagram star was rumoured to have had nearly 50 plastic surgeries, but she has claimed that most of her pictures are heavily edited and attributed her look to makeup. In some of the pictures, she is also seen wearing a loosely fitted hijab on her head.
Judicial authorities arrested Tabar after they received several complaints against her. Reports of her detention triggered online condemnation of Iranian authorities, according to BBC. Her account has now been deleted. Instagram is the only social media platform that can be accessed in the country with official bans on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram.
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