Award-winning Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years in prison and caning 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 to be targeted in a widening crackdown on all dissent in the Islamic Republic following years of mass protests, including the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
Iranian authorities have not recognized the ruling, but Rasoulof and other artists co-signed a letter urging authorities to “put down their weapons” amid protests over a 2022 building collapse that killed at least 29 people in the city. from Abadan, in the southwest of the country. Since then, artists, athletes, celebrities and others have been called in for questioning 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 cases of “actions against national security.”
'MEGALOPOLIS' BY FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA WILL PREMIERE IN CANNES
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof takes a photo for his film 'The Immigrant' in Cannes, France, on May 24, 2013. Award-winning Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging just before his planned trip to the Cannes Film Festival, his lawyer told The Associated Press on Thursday. (AP Photo/François Mori, File)
Rasoulof faces trial in Tehran's Revolutionary Court, Paknia added.
The courts, which often deal with cases of people with Western ties who were later used in prisoner exchanges by Iran, have been criticized internationally for not allowing defendants to choose their own lawyers or even see evidence. against him in closed-door hearings.
The director also faces lashings, fines and asset seizures, his lawyer said.
Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment on Rasoulof's sentencing. He was scheduled to travel to Cannes for the premiere of his new film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” later this month.
“There Is No Evil,” which tells four stories loosely related to the use of the death penalty in Iran, won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2020. Rasoulof was not there to accept the award due to a travel ban. they imposed. by the Iranian authorities. Shortly after receiving the award, he was sentenced to a year in prison for three films he made that authorities considered “propaganda against the system.”
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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 its daring and thought-provoking films depicting the challenges of life in the Islamic Republic.
Filmmaker Saeed Roustayi and his producer also faced legal action last year after traveling to Cannes to show “Leila's Brothers.”
