Jafar Panahi

Jafar Panahi is an Iranian filmmaker and writer from Miyaneh. He was arrested twice in 2019 and was later sentenced by the revolutionary court to prison and banned from screenwriting.

Jafar Panahi is one of the most well-recognized Iranian directors who has won many awards in prestigious international festivals. His style is neorealism and due to reflecting on social problems in his movies, the Islamic Republic has enforced many restrictions on him in making and releasing his films. <symbol-timeline></symbol-timeline>

• <coverage-outsourcing id='41109'> <reference source='https://www.bbc.com/persian/iran/2009/07/090730_op_ir88_behesht_zahra_panahi_mohammadi'> Jafar Panahi was arrested. According to BBC Persian, Jafar Panahi was arrested along with two other filmmakers, Mahnaz Mohammadi and Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, for putting flowers on the graves of the protesters killed in the 2019 uprising. Mr. Panahi and others were released after a few days. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41110'> <reference source='https://www.bbc.com/persian/arts/2010/05/100525_l41_panahi_release'> According to BBC Persian, security forces arrested Jafar Panahi at his home in Tehran and took him to Evin Prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41111'> <reference source='https://cutt.ly/UZ3gugx'> In a letter to the Islamic Republic’s chief of judiciary Sadegh Larijani, hundreds of prominent filmmakers across the world demanded the release of Jafar Panahi. DW Persian reported that many prominent directors have signed the letter. The directors wrote: “There is no reason for the arrest and imprisonment of the prominent international director Jafar Panahi, and this global filmmaker is now paying the price for his courage to reflect the voice and demands and opinions of Iranian people.” </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41112'> <reference source='https://www.bbc.com/persian/arts/2010/05/100525_l41_panahi_release'> Jafar Panahi was released from Evin Prison on a bail of two billion rials. BBC Persian reported that Mr. Panahi had gone on hunger strike a week earlier in protest to his conditions in prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41113'> <reference source='https://cutt.ly/EZ3kA59'> The 26th branch of the revolutionary court of Tehran sentenced Jafar Panahi to six years in prison and social restrictions. His attorney Farideh Gheirat told ISNA that Mr. Panahi has been sentenced to five years in prison for assembly and collusion against national security, and one year in prison for propaganda against the regime. He was also banned from filmmaking, screenwriting, travel abroad, and interviews with domestic and foreign media for 20 years. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41114'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2022/hranews/a-35844/'> After arriving at Evin Prosecutor’s office to follow up on the case of arrested filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al Ahmad, Mr. Panahi was arrested and taken to Evin Prison. According to HRANA, after arrest, Mr. Panahi was transferred to hall 7 at ward 8 of Evin Prison. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41115'> <reference source='https://cutt.ly/DZ3xBGh'> Jafar Panahi was arrested to serve his sentence. According to ISNA, in response to a question about Mr. Panahi’s case and his charges, the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic judiciary, Masoud Setayeshi, said in a press conference: “The 26th branch of the revolutionary court had issued an indictment for this individual in 2020, charging him with assembly and collusion against national security, for which he received a sentence of five years in prison; he also received one year in prison for propaganda against the regime, bringing it to a sum of six years in prison. This verdict is final and mandatory and based on that he was taken to Evin Prison on July 11th of this year to serve his sentence.” </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41121'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/31976466.html'> Jafar Panahi contracted coronavirus. In a phone call to Radio Farda, he reported that he suffered a terrible fever and shivering and after going to the infirmary his coronavirus test came out positive. He went on to say that he has been moved to the quarantine, but the Evin Prison quarantine lacks the most basic necessities and health codes. DW Persian also reported that during his detention Mr. Panahi was denied access to an attorney. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41168'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/31979226.html'> Mr. Panahi’s attorney Mohammad Saleh Nikbakht told Radio Farda that his client has been transferred to Taleghani hospital and said Mr. Panahi was returned to prison without going through treatment. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='41807'> <reference source='https://cutt.ly/GCIebVu'> Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof wrote a joint letter from prison to the Venice Film Festival organizers about the struggle of artists and filmmakers in Iran under the Islamic Republic. The letter was published in IranWire. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='44290'> <reference source='https://www.radiofarda.com/a/jafar-panahhi-evin/32085421.html'> His wife Tahereh Saeedi told Radio Farda that Mr. Panahi called her after the fire in Evin Prison and told her that he and Mohammad Rasoulof (another filmmaker) are safe. Mr. Panahi told her that during the fire, prisoners went into the yard, but were faced with tear gas and had to return to the wards. During the countrywide protests in Iran in reaction to the murder of Mahsa Amini, parts of Evin Prison were set on fire on October 15th, 2022. A number of prisoners lost their lives, and some were wounded by the bullets shot by the prison guards. A number of prisoners suffered poisoning from breathing in the smoke and tear gas. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='48072'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2023/hranews/a-39509/?tg_rhash=22a41dd9689763'> Jafar Panahi went on a hunger strike. According to HRANA, he started his hunger strike in protest of the continued incarceration and the opposition of judiciary authorities to his release despite the fact that his retrial request has been accepted by the supreme court. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='48071'> <reference source='https://www.hra-news.org/2023/hranews/a-39535/?tg_rhash=22a41dd9689763'> He was temporarily released on bail after his retrial request was approved by the supreme court. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>
• <coverage-outsourcing id='46887'> <reference source='https://bit.ly/3I16Otr'> A group of political prisoners in Evin Prison wrote a letter in solidarity with the victims of the earthquake in Khoy. They asked people across Iran to help the disaster-stricken area as much as they can. </reference> </coverage-outsourcing>