A UK-based Iranian protest group has again called on the Irish public to support its campaign to secure the release of internationally acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi and all political prisoners in the country.
In a statement, the Irish branch of Hands Off the People of Iran (Hopi) said Panahi was arrested by the Islamic regime on 1 March but has still not been charged with any crime.
“Twice offered bail during that time, he has refused out of solidarity with all those incarcerated for their participation in the mass demonstrations against the regime that have shaken Iran since June 2009,” the statement read.
“His detention is the most serious example of the treatment Panahi has suffered so far. Up to now, the theocratic regime has been conducting a campaign of harassment against the 49-year-old artist. He has been unable to travel abroad since wearing a green scarf – the colour of the opposition movement – at the Montreal Film Festival in 2009.”
The statement also explained how Pahani was arrested after attending a memorial service for student Neda Agha Soltan, who was killed at a regime change demonstration by Iranian security forces.
It added: “Earlier the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance had announced [Pahani] would not be allowed to make another movie until he ‘re-edited’ earlier films and he was unable to work for a year.”
According to Hopi Ireland, the Iranian prison authorities are piling the pressure on Panahi. Its statement said his wife, Tahereh Saeedi, was only allowed a meet with him on 31 March, nearly a month after his arrest.
Saeedi later said in a radio interview: “They keep asking him the same questions in order to find contradictions in his comments.”
“Jafar Panahi has taken a brave stance,” said Moshé Machover, a member of Hopi’s international steering committee. “He stands shoulder-to-shoulder with those brave participants in the mass movement of opposition to the theocratic regime that have been arrested. Now we must stand shoulder to shoulder with him.”
Hopi Ireland has urged members of the Irish public to support the release of Jafar Panahi and all political prisoners in Iran by sending e-mails, faxes and letters of protest to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 72 Mount Merrion Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin (Fax: 01 283 4246; E-mail: iranembassy@indigo.ie). The group also appreciates that protest letters be copied to anne@hopoi.info.
