@sahartabar_official/InstagramAn Iranian Instagram star famed for looking like Angelina Jolie has been arrested after being accused of a number of crimes.
The 22-year-old, known as Sahar Tabar, was rumoured to have had multiple surgeries in order to achieve her unusual look, though she has hinted before much of her appearance was down to make-up and digital editing.
She has been described in the past as looking like a ‘zombie’ version of Jolie, with dark shadows under her eyes, a cartoonishly turned-up nose and sunken cheeks. She has also been compared to a character from The Corpse Bride.
Watch one of Sahar’s videos below:
According to the Tasnim news agency, as per BBC News, judicial authorities arrested Tabar after members of the public made complaints about her.
It’s unclear exactly when the 22-year-old was arrested but she is accused of blasphemy, instigating violence, illegally acquiring property, insulting the country’s dress code and encouraging young people to commit corruption.
Sahar is one of a number of Iranian Instagram influencers and fashion bloggers who have been accused of breaking the law. In August, an Iranian social media influencer was arrested in Kuwait over allegations of ‘insulting God’ in a comedy skit posted on his social media account, The New Arab reports.
In 2016, 12 people were received prison sentences for posting their photos to Instagram as part of the Iranian government’s ‘Spider II’ program, which hunted down citizens spreading ‘anti-Islamic culture’ online, France 24 report.
According to INSIDER, earlier this year, two travel influencers who were travelling in Iran were arrested on charges of flying a drone without a licence. The pair said they were documenting their trip on social media as a way to ‘break the stigma’ around countries with scary reputations. They have only just been released after being detained for three months.
Sahar’s Instagram account appears to have been deleted following her arrest, though a number of fan accounts are still live.
In an interview with Russian website Sputnik News, the Instagram star admitted to having had a rhinoplasty operation as well as botox for lips and liposuction operations but she gets her more extreme look through ‘photoshop and makeup.’
She explained:
Every time I publish a photo I make my face more fun. It is my way of self expression, a kind of art.
The 22-year-old went on to say she never intended to look like Jolie, saying ‘I am my own muse and I did not want to look like anyone. That was not my aim.’
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.