In recent days, state media outlets have claimed that Ramin Parchami was arrested on drug charges and is now serving his prison term. But a person close to Ramin Parchami’s family, which is under heavy pressure, told Rooz, “A person who is an addict or who engages in drug trade would not be charged with ‘acting against national security’ and ‘disrupting public order.’” Ramin Parchami, a 38-year old movie and television actor, was arrested on February 11 during popular protests. He is currently behind bars at Evin prison’s ward 350, serving a one-year sentence issued by the revolutionary court. Some reports from the manner of Mr. Parchami’s arrest indicated that the actor was arrested after he resisted and refused orders by plain-clothes officers, who had identified him, to leave the scene of the demonstrations: “Ramin is like others, he is no difference from other young people. When he saw how the people were treated, naturally he wanted to stay with them. Just because he was a celebrity and an actor doesn’t mean that he was apathetic. He is the kind of person who stands by his principles and pays the price.” The person close to Ramin added, “Ramin was wearing a mask, but the security officers were able to identify him nevertheless.” On February 11, the Iranian people came onto the streets at the invitation of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi to show their support for the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. The protests turned violent with the involvement of security forces, leading to the deaths of two young students and the wounding of hundreds of protesters. We asked the person close to Ramin if Ramin attended any other protests. He said, “Ramin felt from the beginning that his vote had been stolen, and used every opportunity to show his dissatisfaction.” He added, “Ramin has no unusual or extreme requests, and he doesn’t support any particular group or person. He is mostly concerned with freedom, with eradicating dictatorship, with personal liberties that should be extended to every person. He used to say, ‘I want to live in my own country the way I want, not for the red lines around me to grow and grow every day and confine me to a smaller space.’”
