Iranian Comedian Arrested On Suspected Sacrilege
Iranian comedian Zeinab Mousavi, known by her stage name Empress Kuzcooo and famous for her anti-regime stance, has reportedly been arrested.
Iranian comedian Zeinab Mousavi, known by her stage name Empress Kuzcooo and famous for her anti-regime stance, has reportedly been arrested.
It is suspected that Mousavi, a 32-year-old computer software graduate, has been charged with sacrilege since humor, even in the Islamic Republic, is not officially a crime. The Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the Iranian judiciary, announced the arrest of "an active lady in the virtual space who had insulted sacred values by producing content and publishing humorous videos."
The news of her arrest was announced on Monday. Empress Kuzcooo, a reference to the protagonist in Disney's 2000 animation Emperor's New Groove, is celebrated for her sharp humor and fearless criticism of clerics and politicians.
She has gained fame for breaking taboos by incorporating explicit sexual references in her stand-up routines. Operating from her hometown of Qom, known for being Iran's largest Shia seminary city, Mousavi earns her living through advertisements on her social media accounts, particularly on Twitter and Telegram.
In a recent video, Mousavi donned a Batman mask and satirized the Islamic Republic's propaganda regarding 'martyrdom' in Gaza, a move that might have triggered her arrest amid an Iran-backed war waged by its proxy Hamas against the regime's archenemy, Israel, broke out on October 7.
This is not the first time Mousavi has faced legal troubles for her activities. In October 2022, she was detained after participating in protests following the death of Mahsa Amini. A month later, reports emerged that she had been sentenced to two years in prison. Later, it was announced that she had been granted a pardon by the leader of the Islamic Republic.
