Dressed with a gallows… Photos of Iranian beauty at the Cannes festival have sparked controversy

An Iranian-born model wore a rope-like dress to highlight the increasing number of executions in Iran.

And at the seventy-sixth edition of the “Cannes” film festival, the American-Iranian model, Mahlaka Jaberi, appeared on the red carpet in a black dress that exposed her chest and tied a rope around her neck.

Jabri has sparked a lot of controversy on social media, especially since political comments are not allowed at the Cannes Film Festival.

“We wanted to draw the media’s attention to the illegal executions of the people of Iran,” he wrote on his official Instagram page.

Also, “Unfortunately, political statements are not allowed at the film festival and security also prevented me from showing the dress from behind, but the meaning of the gallows was well understood.”

According to non-governmental organizations concerned with protecting human rights, including Amnesty International, Iran has the second highest number of executions in the world after China.

Executions are currently on the rise in Iran following the wave of protests that erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested by morality police in Tehran in September 2022, which rights groups say is aimed at intimidating people. The reason for not following strict dress codes.

Seven people have so far been hanged in connection with the protests, while last week Amnesty International warned that all seven were at risk of being hanged in connection with the protests.

“What we see in Iran is not executions, but extrajudicial killings carried out to create social fear in order to maintain power,” says Mahmoud Amiri Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based Human Rights Organization in Iran.