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Iranwire – Iranian authorities have released award-winning filmmaker Mohammad Rasulof after he spent more than six months in prison.
Security forces arrested Rasulof in July last year after he criticized the government’s crackdown on protests over a deadly building collapse in the southwestern city of Abadan.
There has been no official comment on the terms of the filmmaker’s release, but Shargh newspaper reported that he had been furloughed.
Rasulof’s imprisonment was tied to a one-year prison sentence he had previously received.
In February 2020, Rasulof won the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival for his film “There Is No Evil,” but he was unable to accept the prize in person because he was barred from leaving Iran.
Earlier this month, Iran released acclaimed film director Jafar Panahi, who was arrested in July after he protested the detention of Rasulof and another filmmaker.
Two months after Rasulof’s arrest, the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of morality police triggered nationwide protests demanding more freedoms and women’s rights.
More than 520 people have been killed and over 19,000 detained in a brutal crackdown by the authorities, according to activists. The judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.
Many Iranian celebrities have been summoned or arrested by the authorities over the past five months for voicing support for the demonstrators.
