Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof sentenced to 8 years in prison and flogging, confirms lawyer

2/2 دلیل اصلی صدور این حکم، امضای بیانیه ها و ساخت فیلم و‌ مستند است که از نظر دادگاه، این اقدامات مصداق اجتماع و تبانی به قصد ارتکاب جرم علیه امنیت کشور محسوب می شود

— Babak Paknia (@DrPaknia) May 8, 2024

The development follows Iranian authorities placing significant pressure on Rasoulof to withdraw his latest project, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” from the Cannes Film Festival. This coercion involved harassing the film’s producers and summoning actors for questioning, prohibiting them from leaving the country.

Paknia, a human rights lawyer, had previously stated in a post on X that authorities summoned and interrogated various actors and producers involved in “Sacred Fig.” He further added that Iranian authorities exerted pressure on them to persuade Rasoulof to retract the film from the festival. “Some of the film’s actors have been banned from leaving, and according to their statements, after several hours of interrogation, they were asked to tell the director to remove the film from the Cannes festival,” Paknia said on X.

۲/۳ برخی از عوامل فیلم، ممنوع‌الخروج شده و بنابر اظهاراتشان، پس از چند ساعت بازجویی از آنها خواسته شده تا از کارگردان بخواهند فیلم را از فستیوال کن خارج کند

— Babak Paknia (@DrPaknia) April 29, 2024

According to Variety, Rasoulof was detained by Iranian authorities in July 2022 following his appeal urging Iranian security forces to refrain from using weapons during protests sparked by a building collapse in Abadan, a southwestern city. He was released in February 2023 due to health concerns.

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Earlier, Iranian authorities prohibited Rasoulof from attending the Berlinale in 2020. During that event, his daughter, Baran Rasoulof, who features in “There Is No Evil,” accepted his Golden Bear award. In May of the preceding year, Rasoulof was forbidden from departing Iran to fulfill his role as a member of the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard jury.