Instagram star nicknamed 'zombie Angelina Jolie' freed from jail on bail: report
The young woman shot to stardom for posting eerie selfies online
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An Instagram star nicknamed "zombie Angelina Jolie" has been freed from Iranian jail on bail, according to an interview she gave with an Iranian news agency.
Sahar Tabar was recently sentenced to a decade behind bars after being arrested last year for her social media activity. Tabar shot to stardom for posting eerie selfies online, claiming to have had "50 surgeries" to look like actress Jolie; she later admitted that makeup and digital editing helped bring the vision to life.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At one point, the young woman – whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand – had nearly 500,000 followers on Instagram, The Guardian reports. She was charged with blasphemy, corruption of youth and disrespect for the Islamic Republic when she was arrested in October 2019. In April, her lawyers pushed for her to be released when she caught the coronavirus in custody, but a judge refused to grant bail, the U.S.-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said.
Sahar Tabar was recently sentenced to a decade behind bars after being arrested for her social media activity. (Sabar Tahar)
On Thursday, journalist and women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad tweeted that Tabar had been released on bail, sharing video footage of a local news report.
"Today Iranian teenager who posted heavily distorted images of herself online and was jailed for 10 years has been freed after massive media pressure," Alinejad wrote, adding the hashtag "#SaharTabar was released on bail."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tabar herself had also reportedly confirmed to Iran's Tamsin News Agency that a judge allowed her to be released on bail.
The young woman shot to stardom for posting eerie selfies online, claiming to have had "50 surgeries" to look like actress Jolie. (Sabar Tahar)
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In a Twitter broadcast, Alinejad had previously called on Jolie directly to help free Tabar, claiming that the young woman’s mother "cries every day" for her daughter to be released.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Islamic Republic has a history of tormenting women," the journalist charged. "We need to be united against this gender apartheid."