Source: Human Rights
Watch, New York
Arbitrary Detention of Director Jafar
Panahi and Two Colleagues Draws International Criticism
|
Jafar Panahi |
Iran's Judiciary should immediately clarify the
reasons behind a raid on the home of film director Jafar Panahi as well as the
legal basis for detaining him and two of his colleagues, Human Rights Watch said
on Friday.
According to accounts published on various
websites, including the BBC, plainclothes security agents raided Panahi's home
on the evening of March 1, 2010. They searched his home, confiscated some of his
personal belongings, and then arrested Panahi, his wife, adult daughter, and 15
filmmakers and actors. Panahi's son said that Panahi and his guests had been
convening a meeting about an upcoming film when intelligence agents arrived.
Panahi and two others remain in detention.
"It has been almost two weeks since Panahi and
his two colleagues were detained but the Iranian Judiciary has failed to provide
any reason for continuing to lock them up," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East
director at Human Rights Watch. "The Iranian authorities should either charge
these men or release them immediately."
|
Mohammad Rasoulof |
Two days after authorities raided Panahi's home,
they freed 15 of those arrested, including Panahi's wife, Tahereh Saidi, and his
daughter, Solmaz Panahi. Family friends said that Jafar Panahi and two other
filmmakers, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mehdi Pourmusa, are still being held in Evin
Prison.
In a press statement hours after the arrests,
Jafar Dolatabadi, Tehran's public prosecutor, declared that Panahi's arrest has
"nothing to do with the fact that he is an artist, nor is it political in
nature." Dolatabadi went on to say that Panahi had been arrested because he had
committed "certain offenses," though neither Dolatabadi nor the Judiciary has
explained the nature of these alleged offenses.
A friend of the family told Human Rights Watch
that after more than a week in captivity, Panahi was finally allowed to call his
family, but that until he made the call, "he was not aware that the family and
his crew were released last week." He noted, however, that authorities had
informed the family that they would not be allowed to visit Panahi at Evin until
the end of the interrogation phase of the investigation. Another family friend
told Human Rights Watch that Rasoulof and Pourmusa had also been allowed to
contact their families.
On March 3, Panahi's son Panah told Kalame.com, a
website considered close to opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi, that his
father and the others were arrested while working on a film for which they had
obtained a government permit. Panahi's son was not home during the raid and
subsequent arrests by security forces.
Following Iran's disputed June 12 election,
Panahi openly expressed his support for the peaceful demands of protesters. On
July 30, 2009, during a visit to the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in southern
Tehran, Panahi was briefly detained by security forces along with several other
Iranian filmmakers as they were laying flowers on the graves of demonstrators
who had lost their lives as a result of state-sanctioned violence following the
election.
In February, Iranian authorities prohibited
Panahi from leaving Iran to attend the Berlin Film Festival. They failed to
provide Panahi with any reason for their action.
"By targeting high-profile artists such as Jafar
Panahi, the Iranian government is sending a clear message that it is willing to
go after anyone it considers a threat," said Whitson. "If well-known figures
like Panahi are not immune from arbitrary arrest and detention, ordinary
Iranians will think twice before engaging in any activity that may seem critical
of the government."
Panahi's arrest has drawn sharp criticism at home
and abroad, including from several European governments, civil society groups
and prominent actors. On March 8, a group of well-known Iranian producers,
directors and actors visited Panahi's family to show their support and call for
his and his colleagues' immediate release.
On the same day, authorities confiscated the
passport of Simin Behbahani, a well-known poet and cultural critic, preventing
her from traveling to Paris for an International Women's Day event. Again,
authorities failed to provide any reason for their action.
For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Iran,
please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/iran
Related Articles:
... Payvand News - 03/13/10 ... --
