Detained Filmmaker Jafar Panahi
Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch reported that Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi was arrested at his home on Monday, March 1st, together with his wife, daughter and 15 dinner guests who are fellow filmmakers and actors. According to several news reports, Panahi and his guests were discussing an upcoming film when plain clothes security forces raided the house and seized several of his personal belongings. While several of the guests and Panahi’s family members have since been released, Panahi two other filmmakers, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mehdi Pourmusa, are still being detained indefinitely in Evin Prison, located in North West Tehran. Neither Panahi, nor Rasoulof or Pourmusa have been charged with committing any crimes.
Panahi is known as one of Iran’s most prominent film-makers, winning the Camera d’Or award at the Cannes film festival in 1995 for his debut feature The White Balloon and the Golden Lion prize at Venice for his 2000 drama The Circle. His other well known films include Crimson Gold and Offside. He is also a vocal supporter of the Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi and has long been regarded as a threat by the current Iranian administration.
According to Human Rights Watch, 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.” Despite his international success, the critical stance in most of Panahi’s work has led to conflict with government censors in Iran. Most of his films are banned from being shown in Iranian cinemas and Panahi himself has been banned from traveling abroad to promote his films. Most recently a travel ban hindered his plans to attend the Berlin Film Festival where, as an honorary guest of the 60th Berlinale, he was slated to participate in a panel discussion on Iranian cinema.
The arrest and subsequent detention of Mr. Panahi raises a number of concerns for both the arts and the human rights world. By targeting high profile artists such as Jafar Pahani, the current Iranian administration is making a strong statement regarding the limitations on who they will arrest: Mr. Panahi’s detention sends a message to ordinary Iranians that criticism of the government is not taken lightly – anyone is subject to scrutiny, arrest and detention.
Jafar Panahi’s arrest and detention also adds to the growing concern on the crackdown of journalists and media figures in Iran. Although citizen journalism and the output of images and updates through social media sites such as twitter, facebook and youtube have been extremely helpful in gauging the reality of the ongoing protests and political turmoil in Iran, I can’t help but wonder how those of us not directly tied to Iran will grasp the gravity of the situation there if journalists and dissidents who are trained in bringing us the real deal are detained, tortured murdered and scared into silence? Even more troubling, is the aspect of how the American administration is to deal with a situation like Jafar Panahi’s, as it presents quite a conundrum. How, as a country can we criticize practices such as indefinite detention, when we still advocate it on our own soil?
