Yara Shahidi speaks out against executions in Iran and mentions the dangers for her family there

Yara Shahidi is speaking out against scheduled executions of anti-government protestors in Iran with a frank post to her Instagram.

The Grown-ish star, 20, posted a candid and thoughtful statement to her feed on Wednesday, in which she expressed her feelings and also stated the inherent dangers in doing so. 

Shahidi, who is the Minneapolis, Minnesota-born daughter of an African-American mother and Iranian father, posted her comments next to a white-on-black text post which read ‘#StopExecutions’ underneath an identical hashtag in Arabic.

Yara began with, ‘First and foremost: #StopExecutionsinIran,’ adding a siren emoji. 

‘A moment to share: Given that I have family in Iran, as many of us do, I try and take the utmost amount of care and intention when speaking; especially knowing the realities that my words have real repercussions outside of myself,’ she also wrote.  

‘It has been impressed upon me the ways that my past statements in support of my Iranian community could put others in jeopardy who currently live in Iran. I know that this is a reality for many Iranians, and as a twenty year old, these are new stakes that I’m learning how to navigate. Stakes that are different in the U. S.

‘I am, of course against capital punishment, and if you know me, you know I value life,’ the Black-ish star continued.

‘We have a right to not only survive, but to thrive. While not done publicly, my first move before speaking on anything is to turn to mentors and people around me to be as informed and aware as possible. 

‘That is what I’m actively doing⭐️’ she added, along with the hashtag #edamnakonid and a final plea to ‘STOP THE EXECUTIONS’ with more siren emojis. 

According to the BBC, Iranian authorities have temporarily halted the impending executions of three anti-government protestors, largely thanks to a social media campaign that saw countless posts from celebrities like Yara and others speaking out. 

Hashtags pertaining to the executions were used 7.5 million times after it was revealed on Tuesday that the Supreme Court in Tehran had upheld the protestors’ death sentences. 

But now, a retrial has now been ordered. 

The three men – Amirhossein Moradi, Mohammad Rajabi and Saeed Tamjidi – were arrested during demonstrations in Iran last November that saw hundreds of protestors killed.

The three men facing the death penalty have denied the charges made against them.