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1/3/2010: Jafar Panahi Arrested

A statement e-mailed by the International Campaign for Human Rights on 19^th May 2010 revealed that director Jafar Panahi embarked on a hunger strike on Saturday 15^th May after officials at Tehran’s Evin jail forced him and other inmates to stand outdoors naked for one-and-a-half hours and threatened to arrest his family.

The report from the human rights organisation said that Panahi informed his family on Tuesday that he had gone on hunger strike in a telephone conversation, and that he read a letter to them which he asked to be released to the Iranian media.   In the letter, Panahi said, ‘On Saturday night [15 May 2010] agents attacked Evin’s Cell 56, forcing me and my cellmates to go outdoors without any clothing and kept us in the cold weather for one and half hours… On Sunday morning, they took me to an interrogation room and accused me of filming the inside of my cell, which is absolutely false. They then threatened to arrest my entire family and transfer them to Evin Prison, and to send my daughter to an unsafe detention center in Rajaie Shahr.

‘I have not taken any food or liquids since Sunday morning [16 May 2010], and I would like to announce that unless the following demands are met, I will continue to refrain from eating and drinking, as I do not wish to turn into a guinea pig who is put under various torture, psychological and mental abuse, and subjected to false accusations:

1. Contacting and visiting with my family to ensure their complete health.

2.  The right to have and consult with a lawyer after 77 days of detention.

3. Unconditional release until my trial date and final verdict.”

‘I swear upon the cinema in which I believe, that I will not stop my hunger strike until my demands are met. My only demand is for my body to be delivered to my family to bury wherever they like.  This letter was written at 11:00 a.m. on 18 May 2010.’

Panahi’s imprisonment has caught the attention of the media and film industry throughout the world.   In April, leading Hollywood directors including Francis ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Stephen Spielberg signed a petition calling on the Iranian government to release Panahi, saying Iranian filmmakers ‘should be celebrated, not censored, repressed and imprisoned.’   Two French ministers also urged Iran to release the director so that he could accept an invitation to sit on the jury at the Cannes film festival which was taking place at the time.

Panahi and his family were arrested on 1^st March 2010, although Panahi’s wife, Tahereh Saeedi, and daughter were subsequently released.   Saeedi said in April that her husband was arrested for making a film without a permit and wearing a green scarf signifying his support for the opposition Green Movement at a film festival abroad.

25/5/2010: Jafar Panahi Released from Prison

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