The oppression of Iranian activists in all shapes and sizes continues. Jafar Panahi, whose passionate speech in court was reproduced in a previous blog post, is one of the latest opponents of President Ahmadinejad’s government to be firmly punished for “propaganda against the system.” Panahi is the director of several award-winning films, including “The White Balloon,” “ The Circle,” “ Offside,” and “ Crimson Gold.”
His sentencing comes after he was arrested in March while directing a new film about family life in Iran after the disputed elections last year. He was released in May after a hunger strike and an international campaign by filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola to urge Tehran to release him. A new campaign that condemns the sentencing is underway.
If history is anything to go by, Panahi’s appeal will be denied and one of Iran’s great filmmakers and activists will languish in jail for several years. I hope that he has the strength to persevere, the guile to escape Iran upon his release, and the determination to continue producing such beautiful films. With any luck, the current political atmosphere in Tehran won’t last the entirety of his jailtime. Perhaps the recent drastic increase in food and gasoline prices will bring people back to the streets in protest. In any case, the Iranian economy is in trouble, and international sanctions must focus on hurting the government, not the Iranian people.
