An Iranian woman and Instagram star who shot to fame in 2017 for posting distorted images of herself where she looked like a ‘Zombie Angelina Jolie,’ has been sentenced to 10-years in an Iranian prison.
Sahar Tabar, 19, whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand from Tehran used heavy makeup and editing to get the horror look on her face and later gained prominence as the zombie version of American actress Angelina Jolie.
Tabar was charged with corruption of young people and disrespect for the Islamic Republic, according to the Guardian.
She was also charged with blasphemy and inciting violence when she was arrested in October 2019 along with three other Instagram influencers. She was later cleared of those charges with Iranian state TV broadcasting her confession.
In April this year she begged for freedom after contracting coronavirus, but the US-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran said that a request for bail was denied by a judge.
“We find it unacceptable that this young woman has now caught the coronavirus in these circumstances while her detention order has been extended during all this time in jail,” Human rights lawyer Payam Derafshan said.
At one point, Tabar also called on Angelina Jolie to campaign for her release, saying: “The Islamic Republic has a history of tormenting women. We need to be united against this gender apartheid.”
The news of her sentencing was confirmed by Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad. The journalist and activist told reporters that she spoke to Tabar’s lawyer who confirmed that the influencer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on the past few days for “promoting public corruption.”
Alinejad shared the news on Twitter and wrote, “10 years jail for Iranian Instagrammer who used makeup and Photoshop to become a zombie Angelina Jolie. Sahar Tabar is only 19. Her joke landed her in jail. Her mother cries every day to get her innocent daughter freed. Dear Angelina Jolie! we need your voice here. Help us..”
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
