Mehdi Mahmoudian, the screenwriter and director of the Oscar-nominated political thriller “It Was Just an Accident”, has been arrested in Iran, reported news portal Emtedad. According to the report, Mahmoudian was able to contact his family after the arrest, while his lawyer stated that the charges against him have not yet been made public by Iranian authorities.
One possible reason for the arrest is Mahmoudian’s signing of an open letter, along with other public figures, condemning the violent suppression of protests in Iran earlier in January.
The situation in Iran was also highlighted by renowned director Jafar Panahi, who made a dramatic appeal during the opening of the European Film Awards ceremony in Berlin in mid-January. “Violence, when left unchallenged, becomes normal. And when it becomes normal, it spreads. It becomes contagious,” Panahi said.
Panahi, a Palme d’Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival for his latest film—which was also Oscar-nominated for Best International Feature—has explored themes of imprisonment and state violence in Iran in his works.
The film “A Simple Accident” addresses experiences of prison and state repression. Meanwhile, an Iranian court has sentenced Panahi in absentia while he was abroad. Mahmoudian’s arrest further heightens international concerns about freedom of expression and the treatment of artists critical of the Iranian regime.
