+
 
For the best experience, open
m.thewire.in
on your mobile browser or Download our App.
You are reading an older article which was published on
Feb 13, 2023

Iran Releases Renowned Filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof From Jail: Reports

The award-winning filmmaker was arrested in July 2022. He had criticised the government's crackdown on demonstrators who were protesting over a deadly building collapse.
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof. Photo: Screengrab via YouTube/Stanford Iranian Studies Program

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has been released after more than six months in incarceration in Tehran’s notorious Ewin prison, economic news agency Eghtesad Online reported on Monday.

Shargh, a popular reformist newspaper, reported that Rasoulof had recently been furloughed from prison and formally released. The report did not mention any dates or other information.

There was no official comment from authorities in Iran.

Why was Rasoulof arrested?

Rasoulof was arrested in July 2022 for criticising the government’s crackdown on protests in the southwestern city of Abadan over a deadly building collapse that killed over 40 people.

Rasoulof was among a group of at least 70 people from the Iranian film industry who had published an open letter and posted statements on social media calling on their country’s security forces to lay down their weapons.

Iranian filmmakers Mostafa Aleahmad and Jafar Panahi were also arrested in the same week.

Rasoulof’s arrest came two months before nationwide protests broke out in Iran following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in the custody of the country’s morality police.

In 2020, Rasoulof’s film There is No Evil, which focuses on the death penalty in Iran, won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin film festival.

Rasoulof could not attend the ceremony due to a travel ban imposed on him by Iranian authorities.

Earlier this month, Tehran released Panahi, who was arrested for inquiring about the detention of Rasoulof and Aleahmad.

Authorities also granted bail to Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti after she was detained for criticising the crackdown on the latest protests in Iran.

This article was first published on DW.

Make a contribution to Independent Journalism
facebook twitter