One of the women referenced in the article has stated she saw no abusive behavior and, what she meant by “rape” was not of sexual nature.
On Feb. 9, 2021, Laleh Sabouri tweeted the following clarification:
“What I meant by the tweet regarding Mr. Aghdashloo, wasn’t rape or assault of sexual nature and I regret the misunderstanding it caused. Therefore I’m deleting those tweets.”
Three days after posting comments on social media that she believed Aghdashloo was “capable of rape,” Laleh Sabouri, an actress working regularly for the Iranian state media network IRIB, tweeted on August 31, 2020 clarifying her definition of rape:
“Rape is when I’m not interested and you keep staring at me. Rape is when I’m not in the mood and you keep talking to me.”
Laleh Sabouri’s definition of “rape”
These reckless actions and absurd statements clearly fall short of the legal and societal definition of rape. In Iran, rape is a crime punishable by death.
On Oct. 6, 2020, Laleh Sabouri confirmed on public record in the Tehran Council of Conflict Resolution that she had never seen any abusive behavior by Aghdashloo and that she did not mean “rape of sexual nature” by her tweets. It is important to point out that the word Tajavoz which was used here can include many meanings in Persian language from offence to rape.
