Tag: Jafar Panahi

Jafar Panahi Sentenced to Imprisonment and Other Penalties

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Freedom of Expression, News
Jafar Panahi, Mostafa Nili, جعفر پناهی

HRANA – Jafar Panahi, film director and screenwriter, has been sentenced by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to one year in prison, two years of a travel ban, and additional penalties.

Mostafa Nili, Mr. Panahi’s defense attorney, wrote in a post on this matter: “Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court has, in absentia, sentenced Mr. Panahi to one year in prison, two years of a travel ban, and a ban on membership in political and social groups, on the charge of propaganda against the regime.”
According to the attorney, “We will take the necessary steps to appeal this ruling within the legal deadline.”

Jafar Panahi has previously faced arrest and judicial actions due to his activities.

Jafar Panahi, aged 65, is an Iranian film director and screenwriter.

Lawyer Saleh Nikbakht Receives One-Year Sentence and Social Media Restrictions

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Freedom of Expression, News
Eskandar Lotfi, Jafar Panahi, Mahsa Amini, Masoud Nikkhah, Mohammad-Reza Amoozad, Saleh Nikbakht, Tehran Revolutionary Court

Saleh Nikbakht has been sentenced to one year in prison by the Tehran Revolutionary Court and faces restrictions on his social media activities.

Presided over by Judge Mohammad-Reza Amoozad, the Tehran Revolutionary Court delivered this verdict to Nikbakht for “spreading propaganda against the regime.” Additionally, he has been prohibited from engaging in social media activities for a duration of two years.

According to sources cited by HRANA, Nikbakht’s refusal to accept the forensic report concerning the cause of Mahsa Amini’s death was cited as evidence supporting this charge. Nikbakht, who served as Amini’s lawyer, found himself embroiled in this legal case following a complaint filed by the Ministry of Intelligence, primarily due to his interviews with media outlets outside Iran.

On March 11, 2023, Nikbakht was indicted at Evin Courthouse and subsequently released on bail.

Notably, Nikbakht has represented Mahsa Amini and several political prisoners, including Jafar Panahi, Eskandar Lotfi, and Masoud Nikkhah, in legal matters.

Imprisoned Film Director Jafar Panahi Goes on Hunger Strike

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News, Prisoners
Hunger Strike, Jafar Panahi, Tahereh Saeedi

Imprisoned film director and screenwriter Jafar Panahi went on a hunger strike in Evin Prison in protest against his prolonged incarceration and judicial official’s refusal to grant him bail.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Jafar Panahi went on a hunger strike in Evin Prison.

His wife, Tahereh Saeedi, mentioned his prolonged incarceration and the judicial official’s refusal of his temporary release as the reason for this hunger strike.

Announcing his hunger strike, Panahi wrote in an open letter: “according to law, once my request for a retrial was accepted and my legal case was delivered to a court branch for review, I should have been released on bail immediately. While we witnessed the execution of the innocent young men of our country within 30 days, by the interference of intelligence agents, delivering my case to a court branch took over 100 days.”

A while ago, the six-year sentence against Panahi was quashed by the Supreme Court o Iran and the case was delivered to Branch 21 of the Tehran Court of Appeals for a retrial.

Panahi was sentenced to six years in prison and banned from filmmaking for 20 years and leaving the country. This verdict was upheld on appeal. On July 11, 2022, Panahi was arrested in front of Evin prison to serve his sentence.

 

Film Director Ali Ahmadzadeh Arrested

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Freedom of Expression, News
Ali Ahmadzadeh, Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof

On August 30, 2022, film director Ali Ahmadzadeh was summoned and arrested.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Radio Farda, film director Ali Ahmadzadeh was summoned and arrested.

The reasons and the government agency responsible for this arrest are unknown so far. However, it seems that this arrest may be related to the film Ahmadzadeh recently directed without obtaining a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

In recent months, reportedly, Ahmadzadeh has been summoned frequently by security institutions.

In recent months, the security forces have intensified the pressure upon cinematographers as two other film directors, Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof have been arrested.

Jafar Panahi and Amirsalar Davoudi Contracted Covid-19 in Prison 

Posted on by A MN
News, Prisoners
Amirsalar Davoudi, covid-19, Evin Prison, Jafar Panahi

Following a new outbreak of Covid-19 in Evin Prison, film director Jafar Panahi and lawyer Amirsalar Davoudi have contracted Covid-19 in captivity.

Panahi is currently held in the Quarantine Section of Evin Prison. Prison officials denied his request to be sent to a hospital and similarly,  did not grant him access to a lawyer after three weeks of detention.

Panahi was arrested on July 11 in Tehran.

Similarly, Amirsalar Davoudi has fell ill with Covid-19 symptoms, but the prison infirmary has refused to test him and provide proper medical care.

On June 26, 2022, Davoudi was taken to prison to serve a ten-year sentence. Earlier, Branch 36 of the Tehran Court of Appeals sentenced him to 14 years in prison, of which, based on Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, ten years is enforceable.

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Family Members of Victims of the November 2019 Protests Arrested

Posted on by A MN
Freedom of Expression, News
Hossein Taghavi, Iran Allahyari, Jafar Panahi, Jafarpanah, Mahboobeh Ramezani, Mehrdad Bakhtiari, Mehrdad Moeinfar, Pejman Gholipour, Pouya Bakhtiari, Saeed Damour, Somayeh Jafarpanah, Tala'at Meshki, Vahid Damour

On July 11, 2022, security forces arrested at least ten family members of the individuals killed during nationwide protests in  2019 known as Aban protests. In a news article, IRGC-affiliated  Fars News Agency called such families “agitators and “troublemakers” since they have been outspoken about seeking justice for their kids.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on July 11, 2022, at least ten family members of those who were killed in the Aban protest were arrested.

These apprehended individuals include Nahid Shirpisheh and Mehrdad Bakhtiari, Pouya Bakhtiari’s mother and uncle, Mahboobeh Ramezani, Pejman Gholipour’s mother, Saeed Damour, Vahid Damour’s brother, and Somayeh Jafarpanah, Jafar Panahi’s sister.

BBC Farsi has added Tala’at Meshki, Jafarpanah’s mother, Iran Allahyari, Mehrdad Moeinfar’s mother, and, Zeynab Mohammadi, Mohammad Taheri’s mother, to the list. HRANA has not been able to verify the latter yet. 

These individuals’ whereabouts are still unknown.

A few hours after these arrests, Fars News Agency called the family members “agitators” and accused them of “receiving the money to cause unrest and insecurity.”

In November of 2019, an increase in fuel prices sparked a wave of protests in dozens of cities across the country. The spokesperson of the Parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Seyed Hossein Taghavi, announced that 7000 people were arrested during these protests. According to reports from human rights organizations, hundreds were killed by the security apparatus.

Film Director Jafar Panahi Arrested

Posted on by A MN
Freedom of Expression, News
Evin Prison, Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof, Mostafa Aleahmad

On Monday, July 11, 2022, film director and screenwriter Jafar Panahi was arrested in Tehran and taken to Evin Prison.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, quoting Saham News, film director and former political prisoner Jafar Panahi was arrested in Tehran.

Yesterday, in an open letter, dozens of Iranians involved in the movie industry condemned Iran’s treatment of the directors and actors and asked for the imminent release of two detained directors Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad.

In 2011, Panahi was sentenced to six years in prison and banned from filmmaking and leaving the country for 20 years. This verdict was upheld on appeal.

European Parliament urges Iranian authorities to stop human rights violations

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Freedom of Expression
Ahmed Shaheed, Jafar Panahi, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Sattar Behesht

HRANA News Agency – The Iranian blogger Sattar Behesht was arrested and tortured to death by Iran’s cyber-police known also as Fata. Sattar Behesht had been accused that he was acting against the national security. The European Parliament published yesterday a new resolution on human rights situation in Iran.

Continue reading “European Parliament urges Iranian authorities to stop human rights violations”

Final Ruling for Jafar Panahi & Mohammad Rasoulof

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Freedom of Expression
Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof

HRANA News Agency – The Appeals Court of Tehran Province has issued its rulings for Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof who were sentenced to prison terms and bans by the lower court.Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof are two Iranian filmmakers and directors charged with acting against national security and propaganda against the regime.

According to a report by Iran Newspaper, Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof previously appeared in the 26th Branch of the Revolutionary Court with Judge Mir Abbasi presiding over the trial.During the proceedings, a representative of Tehran’s Prosecutor read the charges against the accused and said, “Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof have been convicted of acting against national security through social activities and conspiracy to disturb public peace and safety and the crime of propaganda against the regime.”

Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof intended to make a film titled “Farda” in order to illustrate the current social and cultural conditions in the Islamic society.

The representative of Tehran’s Prosecutor asked the court to punish the two filmmakers based on sections 500 and 610 of the Islamic Penal Code.Following the prosecutor’s statements, Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof presented their written answers to the judge’s questions, and attorneys defended their clients.

At the end, citing all the evidence presented to the court, Judge Mir Abbasi sentenced both defendants to 6 years in prison and banned Jafar Panahi from making or directing any films, writing any movie scripts, conducting any forms of verbal or written interviews with domestic or foreign media and leaving the country for a period of 20 years.According to the court’s ruling, Jafar Panahi is allowed to leave the country for pilgrimage to Mecca or for seeking necessary medical care after posting bail.

Following the defendants’ objections and requests for appeal, their cases were reviewed by the 54th branch of the Appeals Court in Tehran Province.The Appeals Court then issued its final rulings upholding the verdict against Jafar Panahi but reducing Mohammad Rasoulof’s prison sentence to one year.

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Documentary Filmmaker and Women’s Rights Activist Arrested

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Freedom of Expression, Women
Jafar Panahi, Mahnaz Mohammadi, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami

HRANA News Agency – This morning, on June 26, 2011, Mahnaz Mohammadi, a documentary filmmaker and women’s rights activist, was arrested.

According to the Committee of Human Right Reporters, this morning, following a raid on her home, Mahnaz Mohammadi was arrested by security forces and taken to an unknown location.The identity of the arresting officers and the reason for this arrest are not known.

Previously, on December 29, 2009, Mahnaz Mohammadi together with Jafar Panahi, Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami and a few other movie producers were arrested when a group of directors and documentary filmmakers visited Tehran’s Behesht-Zahra Cemetery to place flowers on the graves of those killed in the events following Iran’s presidential election.

“Women Without Shadows” is Mahnaz Mohammadi’s most notable documentary for which she received many awards in Iran and abroad.Recently, Mahnaz Mohammadi and Rakhshan Bani-Etemad in collaboration with each other made the documentary film titled “We Are Half of Iran’s Population.”This documentary explores the demands of Iranian women in the presidential election.