Iranian actress summoned to court as celebrities remain under pressure

Iranian actress Chakameh Chamanmah said authorities have summoned her to the judiciary without pressing charges eight months after she was banned from leaving the country following her return to Iran.

Following the summons, Chamanmah said that while no official charges have been mentioned, she would appear before the judiciary with her lawyer.

She said she has been subjected her to repeated interrogations without a judicial order since her return to the country out of what she called love for her homeland.

The young actress was stopped at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport upon arrival, where her passport was confiscated and she was given an instant travel ban.

Since then, she said, "I have been repeatedly interrogated and questioned by various security agencies without a judicial order and, in some cases, faced mistreatment and insulting behavior.

"While government officials constantly talk about the return of Iranians abroad, from the moment I returned to my homeland, I have not been allowed even a single day to live in peace."

Chamanmah's summons comes just days after the directors and lead actors of My Favorite Cake, an Iranian film that premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, went on trial in a court in Tehran, alongside other members of the production team.

Iran's entertainment stars have been among scores placed under such punishments as travel bans alongside the likes of sports figures in the wake of the 2022 uprising, many of whom having supported the Woman, Life, Freedom protests.

Other punishments included pay freezes, fines and sackings, causing a surge of stars fleeing the country.