![Jafar Panahi. [Christoph Soeder / DPA / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP]](/cdn-cgi/image/onerror=redirect,width=640,height=640,format=webp/https://storage.googleapis.com/uploads.mongoosehq.com/url/media/99823968/9c6c090db6906c2766990d7ebd2681a91d9f6b0b0dbc5d21f6f42188ee03956e)
![En Iran, plus de 50.000 personnes ont été arrêtées par les autorités. [Morteza Nikoubazl / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP]](/cdn-cgi/image/onerror=redirect,width=640,height=640,format=webp/https://storage.googleapis.com/uploads.mongoosehq.com/url/media/100108234/4c8d23b200dca2351c36b95ca981490bf39abfcd69224b99b864d71283196ffe)
Overview
- Mehdi Mahmoudian, a co-writer of Jafar Panahi’s film, was arrested in Tehran over the weekend, according to the film’s representatives and AP, with no charges publicly detailed.
- Days before his detention, he and 16 others signed a statement condemning Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the violent repression of protests; fellow signatories Vida Rabbani and Abdullah Momeni were also detained.
- Iran’s Fars News Agency reported he is suspected of helping circulate a message connected to former prime minister Mir Hossein Moussavi, a rationale not accompanied by transparent legal charges.
- Producer Les Films Pelléas and Panahi have denounced the arrest; Panahi, who met Mahmoudian in prison, praised him as a human-rights defender and key contributor to the film’s dialogue.
- The Cannes Palme d’Or winner is France’s submission for the Oscars and nominated for Best International Feature and Best Screenplay, with detained or travel-restricted Iranian collaborators unlikely to attend March ceremonies.