Tehran: Award-winning Iranian director Jafar Panahi, on February 3, was released on bail on the third day of his hunger strike to protest his arrest which lasted for nearly seven months. The case will be reviewed in March.
His wife Tahereh Saeedi posted a picture on Instagram of Panahi being driven from prison in a vehicle.
The independent Center for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI), a non-governmental organization, announced the release of Jafar Panahi on Twitter.
“Happy to report that filmmaker #JafarPanahi has been released on bail in #Iran two days after starting his hunger strike for freedom. Many other film industry workers remain arbitrarily jailed,” ICHRI tweeted.
On February 1, Panahi began a hunger strike protesting against the authorities’ refusal to release him on bail pending a retrial.
The 62-year-old Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film editor was arrested on July 11, 2022, when he went to the prosecutor’s office to follow up on the situation of another filmmaker, Mohammad Rasoulof.
Panahi was also arrested in 2010 after his support for anti-government protests. He was later convicted for “propaganda against the regime”, sentenced to six years of imprisonment and banned from directing or writing films, Mehr News Agency reported.
Panahi’s works have brought many honors to Iranian cinema.
Panahi received the best screenplay award at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival with Serekh . His other film called Taxi won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival.
