Who is Pejman Jamshidi? Iranian footballer-turned-actor arrested for rape and kidnapping

An Iranian actor has been arrested for rape and kidnapping, according to the country’s official judicial media. Though the official sources did not identify the   actor concerned, Iranian media outlets began to speculate that it is Pejman Jamshidi, a former national football star-turned-actor.    

Mizan, the judiciary’s news agency, reported that a woman filed a complaint at a judicial authority accusing an actor of rape. The report added that the  authorities conducted a “specialised and scientific” investigation, following which the accused was summoned to the judicial authority, charged, and subsequently arrested.  

The announcement triggered speculations in Iran, after which Jamshidi’s name began doing the rounds. The reports were indirectly confirmed by Colonel Babak Namakshenas, head of the Tehran Police Information Centre, who said the “actor mentioned on social media and some media outlets was the same person who had been arrested.”  He also confirmed that the case is related to a complaint from a "woman with a real identity" and that the case is pending in Tehran's Criminal Court.  

Official news agencies inside Iran said the complainant was "a 20-year-old girl" who accused the actor of “rape and kidnapping." A report by ISNA news agency said the actor has been transferred to the "quarantine section of Unit 3 of Qezl-e-Hazar prison. He has since been released on bail.

According to the complainant, she got to know the actor while trying to pursue a career in acting. The accused had been studying acting for an extended period before meeting the actor during a work project, according to Iranian media reports.

She alleged that on the fateful day, she accepted a ride from him, believing it was a benign gesture as he had promised her help to enter the movie industry. However,  he drove the vehicle away from their intended path.  Despite her pleas to be let out of the car, he reportedly continued driving. She claims he then forcibly took her to his home, where she was assaulted.

There are also allegations that the actor had previously been accused of rape, and in this case. A report that appeared in Hamshahri Online, the Tehran Municipality's media outlet, said Jamshidi "had previously lured the plaintiff with money following this case and the settlement of the complaint and returned to the cinema arena.”

Once the star player of the Persepolis F.C, Jamshidi shot to fame after he stepped into the world of acting after saying goodbye to football. His performances in the movie The Misunderstanding (2018), Shishlik (2021), Grassland (2022), and A Relic of the South (2023) have earned him accolades. 

Middle East