Iranian Actress Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison

Iranian actress Pegah Ahangarani is the daughter of actress and director Manijeh Hekmat and movie director Jamshid Ahangarani.

An Iranian actress and filmmaker has reportedly been sentenced to 18 months in prison on security charges.

According to the state news agency IRNA, the sentence against 24-year-old Pegah Ahangarani was issued because of her social activities and political comments, as well as interviews she gave to foreign media.

Ahangarani's mother, Manijeh Hekmat, who is also a director, said her daughter's sentence will be appealed.

Ahangarani was twice detained in the past, although she was released without charge -- once during opposition protests over the 2009 reelection of former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, and the second time in 2011.

She has been banned from traveling abroad.

She has professed her support for new Iranian President Hassan Rohani, a relative moderate who has expressed more tolerant views on social and cultural issues.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP