DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Local media are reporting that Iran has released a prominent actress nearly three weeks after she was jailed for expressing solidarity with a man who was executed over unrest linked to anti-government protests.

Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported Wednesday that Taraneh Alidoosti, the 38-year-old star of Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning “The Salesman,” was released on bail. Her mother, Nadere Hakimelahi, said she would be released in a post on Instagram.

Alidoosti had joined several Iranian celebrities in expressing support for the nationwide protests and criticizing the authorities' violent crackdown on dissent. She had posted at least three messages in support of the protests on Instagram before her account was disabled.

One message had expressed support for the first man to be executed on charges linked to the protests, which were triggered by the death of a woman in police custody and have escalated into widespread calls for the overthrow of clerical rule.

The protests mark one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since it was established after the 1979 revolution, and have prompted a heavy crackdown by security forces, who have used live ammunition, bird shot and tear gas to disperse protesters, according to rights groups.