Brian McDonald
Award-winning Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years in prison and lashings just before his planned trip to the Cannes Film Festival, his lawyer told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Rasoulof, 51, known for his film “There Is No Evil”, has become the latest artist targeted by a widening crackdown on all dissent in the Islamic Republic following years of mass protests, including during the Death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
Iranian authorities did not recognize the sentence, but Rasoulof and other artists signed a letter urging authorities to “put down the gun” amid demonstrations over a 2022 building collapse that killed at least 29 people in the southwestern city of Abadan . Since then, artists, athletes, celebrities and others have been called upon to question or faced prison sentences.
“This sentence was issued because Mr. Rasoulof signed statements in support of the Iranian people,” his lawyer Babak Paknia told the AP. He said those statements, along with his tweets and other social activities, were considered examples of “action against national security.”
François Mori/AP
Rasoulof was tried at the Tehran Revolutionary Court, Paknia added.
The courts, which often deal with cases involving people with Western ties later used in prisoner swaps by Iran, have been criticized internationally for not allowing those on trial to choose their own lawyers or even see the evidence against them in open court hearings. closed door.
The director also faces whipping, fines and asset seizure, his lawyer said.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment on Rasoulof’s sentence. He was scheduled to go to Cannes for the premiere of his new film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” later this month.
Paknia said Iranian authorities had summoned some crew members involved in the production of “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” for questioning, adding that they were under pressure to have the film withdrawn from the Cannes festival.
Some crew members have been “interrogated” in recent weeks, while actors have also been interrogated and prevented from leaving Iran, the lawyer said.
It was not immediately clear how many people involved in the production were questioned.
“There Is No Evil,” which tells four stories loosely linked to the use of the death penalty in Iran, won the Golden Bear award in Berlin in 2020. Rasoulof was not there to accept the award due to a travel ban imposed on him. imposed. by Iranian authorities. Shortly after receiving the award, he was sentenced to one year in prison for three films he made that authorities considered “propaganda against the system.”
He has faced repeated prison sentences and film bans in his native Iran, whose Shiite theocracy has long criticized artists embraced by the West as part of a “soft war” against its policies. However, Iran has become known on the international film circuit for bold and thought-provoking films that depict the challenges of life in the Islamic Republic.
Fellow filmmaker Saeed Roustayi and his producer also faced legal action last year after traveling to Cannes to screen “Leila’s Brothers.”
Last month, an Iranian court sentenced rapper Toomaj Salehi until death for supporting the protests sparked by Amini’s death. UN human rights authorities issued a statement demanding Salehi’s immediate release and urging Iranian authorities to reverse the sentence. The Revolutionary Court charged Salehi with “assistance in sedition, assembly and collusion, propaganda against the system and calling for riots,” Raisian said.
Months of unrest following Amini’s death in September 2022 saw hundreds of people killed including dozens of security personnel, and thousands of prisoners. Iranian officials labeled the protests “riots” and accused Tehran’s foreign enemies of fomenting the agitation.
AFP contributed to this report.
