One of the Oscar-nominated screenwriters of the Iranian drama “It Was Just an Accident” has been arrested in Tehran just weeks before the Academy Awards.Representatives for the film on Sunday said that Mehdi Mahmoudian was arrested Saturday.No details on the charges against Mahmoudian were available.
But his arrest came just days after Mahmoudian and 16 others signed a statement condemning Islamic Republic leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the regime's violent crackdown on demonstrators.Two other signatories, Vida Rabbani and Abdullah Momeni, were also arrested.
Jafar Panahi, the prize-winning director of “It Was Just an Accident,” issued a statement Sunday decrying his co-writer's arrest.“Mehdi Mahmoudian is not just a human-rights activist and a prisoner of conscience; he is a witness, a listener, and a rare moral presence — a presence whose absence is immediately felt, both inside prison walls and beyond them," Panahi said.
Panahi was also a signatory on the Jan.28 statement.
It reads in part: “The mass and systematic killing of citizens who bravely took to the streets to bring an end to an illegitimate regime constitutes an organized state crime against humanity.”“It Was Just an Accident” is nominated for best screenplay and best international film at the March 15 Oscars.The film, made covertly in Iran, was France's nominee for best international film.
Popular ReadsMinneapolis live updates: ICE arrest powers expanded, memo saysJan 31, 5:23 PMActress Catherine O'Hara dies at 71Jan 30, 2:13 PMWinter storm updates: Dozens dead across US in wake of massive snowfall, deep freezeJan 27, 4:41 PMPanahi, one of the most acclaimed international filmmakers, has made films through various states of imprisonment, house arrest and travel ban.“It Was Just an Accident," a revenge drama and t he Palme d'Or-winner at last year's Cannes Film Festival, was inspired by Panahi's most recent stint in prison.
It was there that he met Mahmoudian.Panahi calle...